Codex Cumanicus’ta Bitki Adlari
The Plant Names in Codex Cumanicus

Summary/Abstract: The Codex Cumanicus, a work belonging to Cuman-Kipchaks, is the first work written in the Latin alphabet in Turkish language history. Codex Cumanicus is thought to be a work that has emerged as a result of the missionary activities of Italian merchants and Franciscan priests conducted under the disguise of trade in the regions where Cuman-Kipchaks lived. In Codex Cumanicus, there exists a rich vocabulary about human life. This vocabulary consisting of a wide range of topics including human limbs, animals, minerals, religious terms, medicine, clothes, colors, trade, war apparatus, food names, calendar and law provides extensive information on lifestyles of Cuman-Kipchaks. The purpose of this study is to identify the plant names as designated in the Codex Cumanicus and to discuss the historical use of these names in Turkish language from past to today. According to the findings of this study, most of the plant names in Codex Cumanicus have been used in Turkic dialects from Old Turkic period up till today. Some of the plant names were used only during Kipchak period. In addition, the study evidences that the number of foreign plant names used by Cuman-Kipchaks was relatively high in that period.

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