Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish يلدرم ‎(yıldırım, “thunderbolt”). Earliest attested in Kipchak records in 1312 as یولدوروم ‎(yuldurum, “spark”) together with the deriving stem [Arabic needed] ‎(yuldura-, “to shine”). The deriving stem is akin to Karakhanid [script needed] ‎(yuldra-, “to shine”). Nişanyan thinks this verb is derived from Old Turkic [script needed] ‎(yulduz, “star”) with rhotacism taking place.^[1] However there is no consensus on rhotacism in Turkic, so it may very well be the exact opposite and derived from Proto-Turkic *jul-duŕ ‎(“star”) and not Old Turkic yulduz. Compare Chuvash ҫӑлтӑр ‎(śăltăr, “star”). See also Turkish yıldız ‎(“star”), yaldız ‎(“gilt, glitter”), Ottoman Turkish يلدرامق ‎(yıldıramak, “to flash, gleam, glitter”).

Cognate with Azeri ildırım ‎(“lightning, thunder”), Turkmen ýyldyrym ‎(“lightning, thunder”). Akin to Karakhanid [script needed] ‎(yuldrık, “sparkling, shining”) and [script needed] ‎(yuldramāk, “to shine”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jɯɫ.dɯˈrɯm/