An Evaluation on the Concept and Etymology of ‘Beard’ in Historical Turkic Languages

Abstract

Throughout history, various societies, both predating and following the rise of Islam, have ascribed diverse meanings to the beard. While the significance of the beard may hold little weight in certain societies, it occupies a prominent position in others. The beard has functioned as an emblem of status and has been employed as a means of punishment or reward, with its attributes such as shape, color, length, fullness, and sparsity playing a role. To the extent that in specific epochs, edicts concerning beards were issued, underscoring the significance of a young man’s beard growth date and meticulously noting such occurrences. In works like the Bāburnāma, even the date of a young man’s first beard shaving was meticulously recorded. The article is organized into five sections. The first section furnishes insights into the ‘etymology of the term’ and presents three distinct perspectives. Following the requisite etymological elucidations, our viewpoint on the word's origin is presented as the third proposed etymology. Subsequently, the exploration delves into ‘beards’, ‘varieties of beards’, ‘verbal expressions involving beards’, and ultimately ‘idioms and proverbs linked to beards’. The quotations gleaned from these works are translated into contemporary Turkish and provided under their respective categories.