Φρυγιστί
Phrygian
Indo-European (Paleo-Balkan, isolated branch — closest to Greek/Armenian per current consensus) · historical / hidden variety
Phrygian is an extinct Indo-European language of central Anatolia, attested from the 8th century BCE (Old Phrygian inscriptions at Gordion and Midas City, the kingdom of King Midas) to about the 5th century CE (“New Phrygian” funerary curses written in the Greek alphabet). Its corpus is small — some 400 inscriptions — but enough to show that Phrygian forms an isolated Paleo-Balkan branch, most often grouped with Greek and Armenian. It preserves the augment, the e-grade IE thematic verb, and distinctive lexemes like ἄναρ (“husband”, cf. Greek ἀνήρ) and the divine name Bagaios (cf. Sanskrit bhága-, “god”, the same root as Slavic bogŭ).
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Phrygian
Sources
- Brixhe, C. (2008). “Phrygian.” In R. D. Woodard (ed.), The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor (pp. 69–80). Cambridge University Press.
- Lubotsky, A. (1988). “The Old Phrygian Areyastis-inscription.” Kadmos 27: 9–26.
- Obrador-Cursach, B. (2020). The Phrygian Language. Brill.
- Glottolog: Phrygian
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Paleo-Balkan, isolated branch — closest to Greek/Armenian per current consensus)
| Meaning | Phrygian | Venetic | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Messapic | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | bedu /ˈbedu/ | ouriom /ˈouriom/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | masê /maˈseː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Night | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | mater /ˈmater/ | matur /ˈmatur/ | *əma /əma/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | atas /aˈtas/ | — /—/ | *əpa /əpa/ | ana /ˈana/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | az /az/ | eχo /ˈexo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| We | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | onoman /ˈonoman/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tooth | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | zeira /ˈzeːra/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Foot | petes /ˈpetes/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | kan /kan/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Three | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Red | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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