𐰉𐰽

Old Turkic

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *bas- (“to press”). Cognate with Chuvash пус (pus), Khalaj basmaq, Turkish basmak, Bashkir баҫыу (baśıw), Yakut баттаа (battaa). Compare also Hungarian baszik, a Turkic borrowing.

Verb

𐰉𐰽 (bas-)

1. (intransitive) to press, collapse
   • 8th century CE, Kültegin Inscription, E22

     𐰇𐰔𐰀:𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃:𐰉𐰽𐰢𐰽𐰺:𐰽𐰺𐰀:𐰘𐰃𐰼:𐱅𐰠𐰤𐰢𐰾𐰼:𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣:𐰠𐰭𐰤:𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰇𐰭𐰤:𐰚𐰢:𐰺𐱃𐱃𐰃:𐰆𐰑𐰀𐰲𐰃

     üze:teŋri:basmasar:asra:yér:telinmeser:türük:bodun:éliŋin:törüŋün:kém:artatï:udačï

     If the sky above did not collapse and if the earth below did not give away, O Turkic people, who would be able to destroy your state and institutions?

2. (transitive) to raid, attack, suppress
   • 8th century CE, Kültegin Inscription, E35

     𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰔:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣𐰍:𐰆𐰑𐰀:𐰉𐰽𐰑𐰢𐰔

     qïrqïz:bodunïγ:uda:basdïmïz

     ...and fell upon the Kyrgyz people while they were asleep.

Derived terms

• 𐰉𐰽𐰀 (basa, “again”)
• 𐰉𐰽𐰴 (basïq-, “to thrust”)
• 𐰉𐰽𐰣 (basïn-, “to go down; to be overwhelmed”)
• 𐰉𐰽𐱃 (basït-, “to let the enemy make an attack”)

References

• Tekin, Talât (1968) “bas-”, in A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic (Uralic and Altaic Series; 69), Bloomington: Indiana University, →ISBN, page 309
• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “bas-”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 370
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*bas-”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎, Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill