LUĠĀT AT-TURK, THE EARLIEST LEXICON OF THE TURKISH LANGUAGE, TO MODERN UZBEK TURKISH

Abstract

Plants and animals have played a fundamental role in shaping both the biological and cultural aspects of human life. In Turkish culture, elements of nature—particularly plants—hold an important place in daily life as well as in symbolic meanings. The Turkish language has developed a rich vocabulary of plant names through interaction with various languages throughout history. Among the Turkic dialects, Uzbek Turkish occupies a significant position as the direct continuation of Karakhanid, Khwarezmian, and Chagatai Turkish, reflecting lexical and stylistic traces from these earlier stages. Although the vocabulary of Uzbek Turkish is primarily Turkic in origin, it has incorporated numerous loanwords from Arabic, Persian, and Russian over time. This study examines the correspondences of plant names found in Dīwān Luġāt at-Turk, the first dictionary of the Turkish language, within Uzbek Turkish. Using Ahmet Bican Ercilasun and Ziyat Akkoyunlu’s edition Divanü Lügat-it Türk (Introduction-Text-Translation-Notes-Index), plant names were listed alphabetically, and their forms in Karakhanid, Khwarezmian, Chagatai, and Uzbek Turkish were compared. The study aims to reveal the continuity of plant naming traditions within the historical development of the Turkish language