Pontic Scythian language

Pontic Scythian was a Scythian language formerly spoken in western Asia and eastern Europe between the 8th and 2nd centuries BC by the Scythians.

Pontic Scythian
Old Scythian[1]
Native to	Scythia, Scythia Minor
Region	West Asia, Eastern Europe
Ethnicity	Scythians
Era	8th-2nd centuries BC?[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranic Iranic Eastern Iranic Scythian Pontic Scythian
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xsc
Linguist List	xsc
Glottolog	None
The approximate distribution of Eastern Iranic languages and peoples in 100 BC appears in green.
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Phonology

The Pontic Scythian language possessed the following phonemes:^[2]

Vowels

	Front		Back
Close	i	iː	u	uː
Mid	eː		oː
Open		a	aː

Consonants

	Labial		Dental		Alveolar		Postalveolar		Palatal		Velar		Labiovelar		Glottal
Plosive	p	b	t	d (earliest)							k	ɡ
Affricate					t͡s		t͡ʃ	d͡ʒ
Fricative	f		θ	ð (earlier)	s	z	ʃ	ʒ			x		xʷ		h
Sonorant	m		l (later)		n	r			j		(ŋ)		w

This article uses cursive theta ⟨ϑ⟩ to denote the Scythian voiceless dental fricative (IPA /θ/), and regular theta ⟨θ⟩ to denote the Greek aspirated, voiceless dental plosive (IPA /tʰ/).

The western dialects of the Scythian languages had experienced an evolution of the Proto-Iranic sound /d/ into the Proto-Scythian sound /ð/, which in the Cimmerian and Pontic dialects of Scythian became the sound /l/. Scythian shares the evolution of Proto-Iranic sound /d/ into /ð/ with all Eastern Iranic languages with the exception of Ossetian, Yaghnobi, and Ishkashimi; and the later evolution of /ð/ into /l/ is also present in several Eastern Iranic languages such as Bactrian, Pashto, Munjani, and Yidgha.^[3][2]

Corpus

Personal names

The primary sources for Scythian words remain the Scythian toponyms, tribal names, and numerous personal names in the ancient Greek texts and in the Greek inscriptions found in the Greek colonies on the Northern Black Sea Coast. These names suggest that the Sarmatian language had close similarities to modern Ossetian.^[4]

Recorded Scythian personal names include:

Name	Attested forms	Notes
*Aryāpaiϑah	Ancient Greek: Ἀριαπείθης, romanized: Ariapeíthēs	Composed of:[5][6][7][8][9][10] *Aryā, meaning "Aryan" and "Iranic." *paiϑah, meaning "decoration" and "adornment." Compare with Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 (paēsa).
*Hiϑāmϑrauša	Ancient Greek: Ἰδάνθυρσος, romanized: Idánthursos	Meaning "prospering the ally." Composed of:[11] a cognate of Avestan 𐬵𐬌𐬚𐬄𐬨 (hiϑąm), meaning "companion." a cognate of Avestan 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬱 (ϑraoš-), meaning "to prosper."
*Hupāyā	Ancient Greek: Ὀποίη, romanized: Opoíē	Composed of:[6] *hu-, "good." *pāyā, "protection"; an abstraction of the root *pā-, "to protect."
*Pālaka	Ancient Greek: Πάλακος, romanized: Pálakos	From an earlier form *Pāδaka after the evolution of Proto-Iranic /d/ to Proto-Scythian /δ/ to Scythian /l/. Means "tall-legged" and "long-legged." Composed of:[12][13] *pāla-, "foot," from earlier *pāδa-. *-ka, hypocoristic suffix.
*Pr̥tatavah	Akkadian: 𒁹𒁇𒋫𒌅𒀀, romanized: Bartatua or Partatua[14] Ancient Greek: Προτοθύες, romanized: Protothúes	Means "who is mighty in battle." Composed of:[15][16][17] *pr̥tah "battle." Compare with Avestan 𐬞𐬆𐬱𐬀𐬥𐬀 (pəšana) and Vedic Sanskrit पृत् (pṛt-), both meaning "battle." *-tavah "strength, power." Compare with Avestan 𐬙𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬵 (-tauuah).
*Pr̥ϑutavā		Composed of:[18][19] *pr̥ϑu- "wide, broad." Compare with Avestan 𐬞𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬚𐬎 (pərᵊϑu-). *-tavah "strength, power." Compare with Avestan 𐬙𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬵 (-tauuah).
*Skilura	Ancient Greek: Σκίλουρος, romanized: Skílouros	From an earlier form *Skiδura after the evolution of Proto-Iranic /d/ to Proto-Scythian /δ/ to Scythian /l/. Means "sharp" and "victorious."[12]
*Skula	Ancient Greek: Σκύλης, romanized: Skúlēs	From the Scythian endonym *Skula, itself a later dialectal form of *Skuδa resulting from a sound change from /δ/ to /l/.[20]
*Spakayah	Akkadian: 𒁹𒅖𒉺𒅗𒀀𒀀, romanized: Išpakāya[21]	Hypocoristic derivation from the word *spakah, meaning "dog."[22][23][9]
*Spargapaiϑah	Ancient Greek: Σπαργαπείθης, romanized: Spargapeíthēs	Composed of:[6][24][9][10] *spargah "scion" and "descendant." Compare with Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬖𐬀 (sparᵊγa). *paiϑah "decoration" and "adornment." Compare with Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬯𐬀 (paēsa).
*Tigratavā	Ancient Greek: Τιργαταὼ, romanized: Tirgataṑ	Means "with the strength of an arrow." Composed of:[25][6] *tigrah "arrow." Compare with Avestan 𐬙𐬌𐬖𐬭𐬌 (tiγri-), "arrow." *-tavah "strength, power." Compare with Avestan 𐬙𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬵 (-tauuah).
*Uxtamazatā	Ancient Greek: Ὀκταμασάδης, romanized: Oktamasádēs	Means "possessing greatness through his words." Composed of:[6] *uxta-, "word." Compare with Avestan 𐬎𐬑𐬙𐬀 (uxta), "spoken," and 𐬎𐬑𐬜𐬀 (uxδa), "word." *-mazatā-, "great."
*Varika	Ancient Greek: Ὄρικος, romanized: Órikos	Hypocorostic derivation from the word *vari-, meaning "chest armour, armour." Compare with Avestan 𐬬𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌 (vaⁱri-), 𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬭𐬌 (uuari-) "chest armour."[6]

Tribal names

Recorded Scythian tribal names include:

Name	Attested forms	Notes
*Haxāϑrauša	Ancient Greek: Ἀγάθυρσοι, romanized: Agáthursoi	Means "prospering the friend/socius." Composed of:[11] a cognate of Old Persian 𐏃𐎧𐎠 (haxā-), meaning "friend." a cognate of Avestan 𐬚𐬭𐬀𐬊𐬱 (ϑraoš-), meaning "to prosper."
*Skuδa[26][27]	Akkadian: 𒅖𒆪𒍝𒀀𒀀, romanized: Iškuzaya 𒊍𒄖𒍝𒀀𒀀 (Asguzaya) 𒊍𒆪𒍝𒀀𒀀 (Askuzaya) 𒀾𒄖𒍝𒀀𒀀 (Ašguzaya) Ancient Greek: Σκύθαι, romanized: Skúthai	*Skuδa, the Scythian endonym,[26][27] From the Proto-Indo-European root skewd-, itself meaning lit. 'shooter, archer', whence also English "shoot".[28]
*Skula	Ancient Greek: Σκόλοτοι, romanized: Skólotoi[29][2]	Later form of *Skuδa resulting from the evolution of Proto-Scythian /δ/ into Scythian /l/.[26]
*Paralāta	Ancient Greek: Παραλάται, romanized: Paralátai[29][2]	Cognate with Young Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬀𐬜𐬁𐬙𐬀‎ (Paraδāta), meaning "placed at the front."[9]

Place names

Some scholars believe that many toponyms and hydronyms of the Russian and Ukrainian steppe have Scythian links. For example, Vasmer associates the name of the river Don with an assumed/reconstructed unattested Scythian word *dānu "water, river", and with Avestan dānu-, Pashto dand and Ossetian don.^[30] The river names Don, Donets, Dnieper, Danube, and Dniester, and lake Donuzlav (the deepest one in Crimea) may also belong with the same word-group.^[31]

Recorded Scythian place names include:

Name	Attested forms	Notes
*Baurustāna	Ancient Greek: Βορυσθένης, romanized: Borusthénēs	Means "place of beavers." Composed of:[32] *bauru- "beaver." Cognate of: Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬡𐬭𐬀 (baβra) and 𐬠𐬀𐬡𐬭𐬌‎ (baβri), meaning "beaver" Sanskrit बभ्रु (babhrú) and बभ्रुक​ (bábhruka), meaning "mongoose" *stāna "space."
*Pantikapa	Ancient Greek: Παντικάπαιον, romanized: Pantikápaion	Means "fish-path." Composed of:[33] *panti-, "path." Compare with Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬧‎𐬙𐬃‎ (paṇ‎tā̊), "path." *kapa-, "fish." Compare with Khotanese Saka kavā, Ossetian Кӕф kæf, and Pashto کب (Kab).
*Rahā	Ancient Greek: Ῥᾶ, romanized: Rhâ	Means "wetness." Compare with Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬢𐬵𐬁 (raŋhā) and Vedic Sanskrit रसा (rasā́).[34]
*Varu	Ancient Greek: Ὄαρος, romanized: Óaros	Means "broad."[35]

Herodotus' Scythian etymologies

The Greek historian Herodotus provides another source of Scythian; he reports that the Scythians called the Amazons Oiorpata, and explains the name as a compound of oior, meaning "man", and pata, meaning "to kill" (Hist. 4,110).

• Most scholars associate oior "man" with Avestan vīra- "man, hero", Sanskrit vīra-, Latin vir (gen. virī) "man, hero, husband",^[36] PIE *wiHrós. Various explanations account for pata "kill":
  1. Persian pat- "(to) kill", patxuste "killed";^[37]
  2. Sogdian pt- "(to) kill", ptgawsty "killed";^[38]
  3. Ossetian fædyn "cleave", Sanskrit pātayati "fell", PIE *peth₂- "fall".^[39]
  4. Avestan paiti- "lord", Sanskrit páti, PIE *pótis, cf. Lat. potestate (i.e. "man-ruler");^[40]
  5. Ossetian maryn "kill", Pashto mrəl, Sanskrit mārayati, PIE *mer- "die" (confusion of Greek Μ and Π);^[41]
• Alternatively, one scholar suggests Iranic aiwa- "one" + warah- "breast",^[42] the Amazons believed to have removed a breast to aid drawing a bow, according to some ancient folklorists, and as reflected in Greek folk-etymology: a- (privative) + mazos, "without breast".

Elsewhere Herodotus explains the name of the mythical one-eyed tribe Arimaspoi as a compound of the Scythian words arima, meaning "one", and spu, meaning "eye" (Hist. 4,27).

• Some scholars connect arima "one" with Ossetian ærmæst "only", Avestic airime "quiet", Greek erēmos "empty", PIE *h₁(e)rh₁mo-?, and spu "eye" with Avestic spas- "foretell", Sanskrit spaś-, PIE *speḱ- "see".^[43]
• However, Iranic usually expresses "one" and "eye" with words like aiwa- and čašman- (Ossetian īw and cæst).
• Other scholars reject Herodotus' etymology and derive the ethnonym Arimaspoi from Iranic aspa- "horse" instead.^[44]
• Or the first part of the name may reflect something like Iranic raiwant- "rich", cf. Ossetian riwæ "rich".^[45]

Scythian theonyms

Name	Attested forms	Notes
*Tapatī́	Ancient Greek: Ταβιτί, romanized: Tabití	Means “the Burning One” or “the Flaming One.”[46][47] Related to:[48][49][50] Avestan 𐬙𐬁𐬞𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬙𐬌‎ (tāpaiieⁱti), “to warm.” Sanskrit तापयति (tapayati), “to heat” and “to warm”; theonym तपती (Tapatī); तपस् (tápas) Latin tepeo.
*Api	Ancient Greek: Ἀπί, romanized: Apí and Ἀπία, romanized: Apía	Related to Avestan 𐬀𐬞𐬌 (api), "water."[49]
*Targī̆tavah	Ancient Greek: Ταργιτάος, romanized: Targitáos	Means "possessing the might of the goddess Tarkā." Composed of:[51] *Targiya, "of the goddess Tarkā." *-tavah "strength, power." Compare with Avestan 𐬙𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬵 (-tauuah).
	Ancient Greek: Ἀρτίμπασα, romanized: Artímpasa	Composed of:[49] Iranic theonym *Arti a term related to *paya, "pasture" and *pati, "lord."
*Apatura	Ancient Greek: Ἀπάτουρος, romanized: Apátouros	Means "swift water." Composed of:[52] *ap-, "water." Related to Avestan 𐬀𐬞 (ap-), "water." *tura-, "quick" or "mighty."
*Gaiϑāsūra	Ancient Greek: Γοιτόσυρος, romanized: Goitósuros	Composed of:[9] *gaiϑā, "herd" and "possessions." Cognate of 𐬔𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬊𐬌𐬙𐬌𐬱 (gaoiiaoⁱtiš), "cow pasture."[53] *sūra, "strong" and "mighty."
	Ancient Greek: Θαγιμασάδας, romanized: Thagimasádas and Θαμιμασάδας, romanized: Thamimasádas	Composed of: a possible cognate of Avestan 𐬚𐬡𐬁𐬴𐬀 (ϑβāṣ̌a), "firmament," and Vedic Sanskrit त्वक्ष् (tvakṣ-) or तक्ष् (takṣ-), "to create by putting into motion." mazatā, meaning "great."[6]
*Lipoxšayah	Ancient Greek: Λιπόξαϊς, romanized: Lipóxaïs	From an earlier form [*Δipoxšayah] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 2: Δ) (help) after the evolution of Proto-Iranic /d/ to Proto-Scythian /δ/ to Scythian /l/. Means "king of radiance" and "king of heaven." Composed of:[54] *lipah, from earlier *δipah, "to be bright" as well as "sky" and "heaven." *-xšayah, "ruler."
*R̥buxšayah	Ancient Greek: Ἀρπόξαϊς, romanized: Arpóxaïs	Means "king of the airspace." Composed of:[55] *r̥bu-, a cognate of Sanskrit ऋभु (Ṛbhú), the name of a group of deities of the airspace. *-xšayah, "ruler."
*Kolaxšayah	Ancient Greek: Κολάξαϊς, romanized: Koláxaïs Latin: Colaxes	From an earlier form *Kauδaxšayah after the evolution of Proto-Iranic /d/ to Proto-Scythian /δ/ to Scythian /l/. Means "axe-wielding king," where the axe also has the meaning of "sceptre," as well as "blacksmith king," in the sense of "ruling king of the lower world." Composed of:[56] *kolah, from earlier *koδa, "axe." *-xšayah, "ruler."

Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder's Natural History (AD 77–79) derives the name of the Caucasus from the Scythian kroy-khasis = ice-shining, white with snow (cf. Greek cryos = ice-cold).

Aristophanes

In the comedy works of Aristophanes, the dialects of various Greek people are accurately imitated. In his Thesmophoriazusae, a Scythian archer (a member of a police force in Athens) speaks broken Greek, consistently omitting the final -s (-ς) and -n (ν), using the lenis in place of the aspirate, and once using ks (ξ) in place of s (sigma); these may be used to elucidate the Scythian languages.^[57]