Where does “zırcahil” come from?

zırcahil (Turkish) comes from Turkish zır, from Ottoman Turkish زر, from Persian زر, from Middle Persian zarr, from Parthian zarn, from Proto-Iranian jr̥Hanyam, from Proto-Indo-Iranian ȷ́ʰr̥Hanyam, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰl̥h₃enyom — to flourish; green, yellow.

zırcahil (Turkish): very ignorant

Definitions

  1. very ignorant

Ancestry of “zırcahil”, step by step

zırcahil traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Turkish zır

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Turkishzırcrazy – used only in the fixed phrase zırdeli, added as an intensifier to deli (crazy)
2Ottoman Turkishزرgold, a yellow chemical element of great value and one of the noble metals
3Persianزرgold; rotation; revolution
4Middle Persianzarrgold
5Parthianzarngold
6Proto-Iranianjr̥Hanyamgold
7Proto-Indo-Iranianȷ́ʰr̥Hanyamgold
8Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰl̥h₃enyom
9Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰelh₃-to flourish; green, yellow

via Turkish cahil

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Turkishcahilignorant, uneducated
2Ottoman Turkishجاهلignorant, idiot
3Arabicجَاهِلignorant, fool, uneducated
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰelh₃-Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰl̥h₃enyomEvery word from Proto-Indo-Iranian ȷ́ʰr̥Hanyam