Armenian

Noun

կատակ • ‎(katak)

1. joke

   կատակ անել‎ ― katak anel ― to make a joke

Declension

Old Armenian

Alternative forms

• կատիկ ‎(katik)

Etymology

From early Parthian *kātak; compare Middle Persian kʾtk' ‎(*kādag, “game; joke”) and see there for more. See also կատակագուսան ‎(katakagusan).

Ačaṙyan, who did not know about the Iranian words, following Lidén considered the word to be inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷad-, with Sanskrit गदति ‎(gádati, “to speak articulately, say, relate, tell”) as a cognate. This etymology can now be discarded.

Noun

կատակ • ‎(katak)

1. play, ridicule, joke

   ընդ կատակս‎ ― ənd kataks ― pleasantly, jestingly, in jest; humorously, jocosely

   ասել ընդ կատակս‎ ― asel ənd kataks ― to say jestingly, to cut jokes on

   թող անդր զկատակդ‎ ― tʿoł andr zkatakd ― joking apart

   կատակ առնել‎ ― katak aṙnel ― to jest, to joke, to play the fool

   այպն եւ կատակ առնել‎ ― aypn ew katak aṙnel ― to laugh at, to mock, to jeer, to rally, to scoff at, to turn into ridicule

   այպն եւ կատակ լինել‎ ― aypn ew katak linel ― to be laughed at, to be the laughing-stock of

2. buffoon
   • 5th century, Pʿawstos Buzand, Hayoc Patmutʿiwnʿ [History of the Armenians] 3.19

     […] եւ ըմպէին անդ գինի բոզօք եւ վարձակօք եւ գուսանօք եւ կատակօք […]

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

• Armenian: կատակ ‎(katak)

References

• Petrosean, H. Matatʿeay V. (1879), “կատակ”, in Nor Baṙagirkʿ Hay-Angliarēn [New Dictionary Armenian–English], Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy
• Awetikʿean, G.; Siwrmēlean, X.; Awgerean, M. (1836–1837), “կատակ”, in Nor baṙgirkʿ haykazean lezui [New Dictionary of the Armenian Language] (in Old Armenian), Venice: S. Lazarus Armenian Academy
• Lidén, Evald (1906) Armenische Studien (in German), Göteborg: Wald. Zachrissons, page 72
• Ačaṙean, Hračʿeay (1973), “կատակ”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Dictionary of Armenian Root Words] (in Armenian), volume II, 2nd edition, Yerevan: University Press, published 1926–1935, pages 535–536
• Nyberg, H. S. (1974), “kātak”, in A Manual of Pahlavi, Part II: Glossary, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, page 116a
• Asatrjan, G. S. (2013), “Parfjanskoje gōsān [Parthian gōsān]”, in Toxtasʹjev S. R., Lurʹje P. B., editors, Commentationes Iranicae. Sbornik statej k 90-letiju Vladimira Aronoviča Livšica (in Russian), Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istorija, ISBN 978-5-4469-0127-2, page 103