tocharian

English - English

Definition of tocharian in English English dictionary

Of or pertaining to Tocharian or the Tocharians

Any member of a people who inhabited the Tarim Basin and spoke Tocharian

An extinct branch of the Indo-European language family, consisting of two languages, Tocharian A and Tocharian B, written in an abugida derived from Brahmi

a branch of the Indo-European language family that originated in central Asia during the first millennium A

Related Terms

Tocharian A

Eastern member of Tocharian branch of Indo-European languages, extinct from ninth century. Once spoken in the Tarim Basin in Central Asia

Tocharian B

Western member of Tocharian branch of Indo-European languages, extinct from ninth century. Once spoken in the Tarim Basin in Central Asia

Tocharian languages

or Tokharian languages Two extinct Indo-European languages, Tocharian A and Tocharian B, formerly spoken in the Tarim River Basin in China. Documents date back to AD 500-700. Tocharian literature, written in a northern Indian syllabary derived from Brahmi (see Indic writing systems), was preserved in Buddhist monasteries. Spoken at the eastern frontier of the Indo-European world, Tocharian shows the influence of Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages but seems closer to western Indo-European languages in vocabulary and grammar

Hyphenation

To·cha·ri·an

Etymology

() From Latin Tochari, from Ancient Greek tócharoi 'Kucheans', from Old Iranian (cf. Old Persian tuxāri-, Khotanese ttahvāra) or Sanskrit tukhāra, from Old Chinese tokʷar 'Yuezhi'.