Aybeğ

[𐎂𐎍𐎐𐎗 𐎃𐎐4]

Hi,

I heard the Uzbek name Oibek/Oybek recently. I know its equivalent in Turkish is Aybeğ ایبک (like the famous Kutbiddin Aybeğ of India) because oy = moon and bek = beğ

What is the meaning of Aybeğ? Does it mean the lord of the moon (that is, God)?

 

[misi2991]

Aybek
Köken: Türkçe, Cinsiyet: Erkek
1. Ay gibi güzel ve yakışıklı olan bey.
2. Hindistan’daki Türk Memlûkleri Devletinin kurucusu. (Ö. 1210).

Source: Türk Dil Kurumu | Sözlük

In English, it reads:

Aybek
Origin: Turkish, Gender: Male
1. A gentleman as beautiful and handsome as the moon.
2. The founder of the Turkic Mameluke State in India.

 

[Ali Smith]

Its equivalent in Turkish is indeed Aybeğ, but the name of the famous Indian ruler was ایبک, which is Aybek, not Aybeğ.

 

[𐎂𐎍𐎐𐎗 𐎃𐎐4]

Yes it means Lord of the Moon. In Uzbek it is Oibek. THey are cognate.

 

[Ali Smith]

If that’s what it means, is it an epithet of God?

 

[Rallino]

No. Bey/Bek is not God. It's a lord of a land. Ay means the Moon, but it's a common particle in many names and has the connotations of being beautiful, pretty handsome and perhaps pure. It is not to be understood as the lord of the Moon. There are many such names: Aybars, Aygül, Ayhan, Aysu, and others that I can't think of right now.