List of reconstructed Dacian words


This article contains a list of reconstructed words of the ancient Dacian language. They have been restored by some linguists from attested Dacian place and personal names and from words believed to be Dacian relics in the modern Romanian and Albanian languages.
In the case of words reconstructed from onomastic evidence, the original meanings ascribed to the names in question are derived from examination of closely cognate words and placenames in other Indo-European languages, complemented by analysis of the historical evolution of such placenames. However, the results are hypothetical and subject, in many cases, to divergent etymological interpretations.
Reconstructions derived from Romanian and Albanian words are based on the unproven theory that Dacian constitutes the main linguistic substratum of both languages, or the related theory that Dacian and early Albanian both descend from an immediate common ancestor.

Reconstruction of words from place and personal names

Methodology

Both Georgiev and Duridanov use the comparative linguistic method to decipher ancient Thracian and Dacian names, respectively.
Georgiev argues that one can reliably decipher the meaning of an ancient place-name in an unknown language by comparing it to its successor-names and to cognate place-names and words in other IE languages, both ancient and modern. He gives several examples of his methodology, of which one is summarised here:
The city and river in eastern Romania called Cernavodă. In Slavic, the name means "black water". The same town in Antiquity was known as Άξίοπα or Άξιούπολις and its river as the Άξιος. The working assumption is, therefore, that Axiopa means "black water" in Dacian. According to the known rules of formation of IE composite words, this breaks down as axi = "black" and opa or upa = "water" in Dacian. The assumption is then validated by examining cognate placenames. The axi element is validated by another tributary of the Danube called the Axios, which is today known as Crna reka and by the older Greek name for the Black sea, Άξεινος πόντος. The opa/upa element is validated by the Lithuanian cognate upė. This etymology is questioned by Russu: Axiopa, a name attested only in Procopius' De Aedificiis, may be a corrupt form of Axiopolis. Even if correct, however, Russu's objection does not invalidate the decipherment of the axi- element.
Apart from Duridanov and Georgiev, other scholars have attempted to reconstruct Dacian and Thracian words. Russu attempted to decipher Thracian and Dacian onomastic elements by reference to presumed proto-Indo-European roots-words. Georgiev considers such a methodology to be "devoid of scientific value". This is because the root-words themselves are reconstructions, which are in some cases disputed and in all cases subject to uncertainty; multiple root-words can often explain the same word; and the list of proposed IE root-words may not be complete. Reichenkron assumed that so-called "substratum" words in Romanian are of Dacian origin. But Polomé considers that such a methodology is not reliable. This is because there is no guarantee that the substratum words are, in fact, Dacian. Instead, they could derive from other, unknown or little-known tongues at some period current in Dacia or Moesia: for example, possible pre-Indo-European language of the Carpathians.

Methodological problems

The methodology used by Georgiev and Duridanov has been questioned on a number of grounds, including:
  1. The phonetic systems of Dacian and Thracian and their evolution are not reconstructed from elements derived directly from the ancient languages in question but from their approximative Greek and Latin transcripts. For example, Greek and Latin had no dedicated graphic signs for phonemes such as č, ġ, ž, š and others. Thus, if a Thracian or Dacian word contained such a phoneme, a Greek or Latin transcript would not represent it accurately. This could result in the wrong cognate being selected to decipher the Dacian name.
  2. The etymologies that are adduced to validate the proposed Dacian and Thracian vowel- and consonant- changes are open to divergent interpretations, since the material is strictly onomastic, with the exception of Dacian plant-names and of the limited number of glosses. Because of this, there are divergent and even contradictory assumptions for the phonological structure and development of the Dacian and Thracian languages. Polomé notes that, in the case of personal names, the choice of etymology is often based on such assumed phonological rules.
  3. Dana argues that both Georgiev and Duridanov ignore the context of the names and start from arbitrary assumptions, such as considering a name to be of Dacian origin simply because it is attested in Dacia. In Dana's opinion, the Dacian origin of some of the names is doubtful or even excluded. Also, Duridanov's method is unreliable because most of the names he considers are unique.
  4. Dana questions the validity of the Baltic etymologies used to decipher the Dacian names.
  5. According to Messing, Duridanov's results are in contradiction with the reconstruction of a Balto-Slavic language group, as they show many parallels between Dacian and Baltic, but only a few with Slavic languages..
Despite these objections, Georgiev and Duridanov claim a high degree of reliability for their reconstructions. However, Polomé, in his survey of the state of research into paleo-Balkan languages for Cambridge Ancient History, considers that only "20-25 Dacian, and 40-45 Thracian words have had reasonable, but not certain, Indo-European etymologies proposed". This compares with c. 100 Dacian words reconstructed by Duridanov, and c. 200 Thracian words by Georgiev.

Reconstructed Dacian words

, PN Almo
Rom. ”ager” ”smart, clever”

Reconstruction from Romanian and Albanian words

Georgiev, Duridanov and Russu concur that the Dacian language constitutes the main pre-Latin substratum of the modern Romanian language. Duridanov also accepts Georgiev's theory that modern Albanian is descended from Daco-Moesian. Where words in modern Albanian and/or Romanian can be plausibly linked to an Indo-European root and modern cognates of similar meaning, a reconstruction of the putative Dacian originals have been proposed by Duridanov, who included them in a separate list from words reconstructed from placenames.
CAVEAT: The following word-reconstructions are based on the assumption that the Albanian language is descended from Daco-Moesian. This theory is contested by many linguists, especially Albanian, who consider the language a direct descendant of the extinct Illyrian language. Thus, reconstructions based on modern Albanian words, or Romanian substratum words with Albanian cognates, may in reality represent ancient Illyrian, rather than Dacian, elements. In addition, the reconstructions below, unlike those in Table A above, are not validated by Dacian place- or personal names. The "Dacianity" of the reconstructions is therefore more speculative than those derived from placenames.
Dacian
word		MeaningAlbanian/Romanian
relic		Possible Indo-European
root-word		Modern cognatesNotes
*bred-fir-tree Alb. bredh, Rom. brad*bhreg'-os, *bhrog'-os Rom. brad
Lith. brãzas, Old Slav. brěza
*dainasongRom. dialect daină, doină, Alb. zana "mountain fairy"*doinaLith. dainà, Lat. daīņa
*dragayeastAlb. drā*dhraghā Rom. "drojdie" Lith. drãgės, Lat. dradži, Old Pr. dragios, Old Bulg. drożdje, Pol. drożdże
*gen-to hunt, to chaseAlb. gjanj *gu̯hen-Lith. genù
*gernaskinAlb. zorrë*gųernā Lith. žárna, Lat. zařna
*kaslacoughAlb. kollëkųāslā Lith. kosulỹs, Lat. kašļi, Old Slav. kašĭlĭ
*kesatimeAlb. kohë*kēsā Old Pr. kismān, Old Bulg. časă, Pol. czas
*kurwhenAlb. kur *ku̯ur- Lith. kuř, Lat. kùr, Arom. kùri, Toch. kwri
*lad-hazel-bushAlb. lethi, laithi*lag'- Lith. lazà, Old Pr. laxde
*laid-mud, loamAlb. leth *loid Old Pr. laydis
*mal-bank, shore or mountainAlb. mal, Rom. mal *mol- Lat. mala
*mat-to measure, massAlb. mat, mas, matë*mot- Lith. mãtas, matúoti
*met-year, timeAlb. mot*mēto- Lith. mētas, Latv. męts, Old Pr. mettan Alb. shkozë*skrēbh-ro- Lith. skrúoblas and variants, Lat. skābardis Old Pr. scoberwisderivation: Bulg. skreba
*spand-hellebore Alb. shpendër, Rom. spînz*sponǎ- Lat. spuóds
*staig-way, path, passageAlb. shteg*stoigh- Lat. stiga, Gothic staiga, Ger. steig
*skrumbash, burnt materialAlb. shkrumb, Rom. scrum*skrṃb-Lith. skrembù Old Prussian placename Scrumbayn
*strungamilking-enclosureAlb. shtrungë, Rom. strungă*strṇgāDacian placename Στρὁγγες
*zuv-fishRom. juvete *g'hduụ- Lith. žuvis Lat. dial. zuvaDac. placename Ζουσἱδαυα

Ancient