# კალმახი
## Georgian
### Alternative forms

* კალმახა (ḳalmaxa)

### Etymology

From Old Armenian կարմրախայտ (karmraxayt, “trout”, literally “red-spotted”).
The Proto-Kartvelian *ḳalmax- (“fish”) reconstructed by some within the controversial Nostratic theory is based on the Svan alone, does not take into consideration the Armenian material, and is unreliable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [kʼalmaχi]
* Hyphenation: კალ‧მა‧ხი

### Noun

კალმახი • (ḳalmaxi) (plural კალმახები)
* trout

#### Declension

Notes: archaic plurals might not exist.

#### Descendants

* →⇒ Avar: кӏалмах-ччугӏа (kʼalmax-ččuʻa)
* → Bats: კალმახ (ḳalmax)
* → Chechen: кӏамах (kʼamax) — Kist
* → Ingush: кӏалмах (kʼalmax)
* → Laz: კარმახა (ǩarmaxa), კალმახა (ǩalmaxa) — Borghola, კალმახი (ǩalmaxi)
* → Mingrelian: კალმახი (ḳalmaxi), კალმახა (ḳalmaxa), კაჲმახა (ḳaymaxa) — Martvili–Bandza
** → Abkhaz: а-калмаҳа (a-kʼalmaḥa), а-калма́ҳ (a-kʼalmáḥ), а-камла́ҳ (a-kʼamláḥ)
* → Ossetian: къалмахи (k’almaxi)
* → Russian: калма́хи (kalmáxi)
* → Svan: კალმახ (ḳalmax), კალმა̈ხ (ḳalmäx), კალმახუ̂ (ḳalmaxû)
* → Udi: кӏалмах (ḳalmaꭓ)

### References

* ↑ Orbeliani, Sulxan-Saba (1685–1716) “კალმახი”, in S. Iordanišvili, editor, Siṭq̇vis ḳona kartuli, romel ars leksiḳoni [Collection of Georgian words, that is a dictionary]‎, Tbilisi: Georgian SSR print, published 1949, page 159
* ↑ Marr, N. (1910) “კალმახა”, in Грамматика чанского (лазского) языка с хрестоматией и словарем [Grammar of the Chan (Laz) Language with a Reader and a Dictionary] (Материалы по яфетическому языкознанию; 2) (in Russian), Saint Petersburg: Academy Press, page 151a
* ↑ Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1973) “կարմիր”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, volume II, Yerevan: University Press, page 559a
* ↑ Ġapʻancʻyan, Grigor (1961) Hayocʻ lezvi patmutʻyun. Hin šrǰan [History of the Armenian Language. Ancient Period] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Academy Press, page 89
* 1 2 Klimov, G. A. (1963) “Об этимологической методике Карла Боуды (На материале кавказских языков) [On the etymological method of Karl Bouda (Based on the material of Caucasian languages)]”, in Этимология‎, Moscow: Nauka, page 272 of 268–274
* ↑ Vladislav Illich-Svitych (1967) “Материалы к сравнительному словарю ностратических языков (индоевропейский, алтайский, уральский, дравидский, картвельский, семитохамитский) [Materials for a Comparative Dictionary of the Nostratic Languages (Indo-European, Altaic, Uralic, Dravidian, Kartvelian, Semito-Hamitic)]”, in Этимология 1965: Материалы и исследования по индоевропейским и другим языкам, Moscow, page 362: “рыба¹ *ḳolʌ”
* ↑ Starostin, S. A. (2005) “*ḳalmax-”, in Kartvelian etymological database compiled on the basis of G. Klimov's and Fähnrich-Sarjveladze's etymological dictionaries of Kartvelian languages, based on Иллич-Свитыч
* ↑ Starostin, S. A. (2007) “Subgrouping of Nostratic: comments on Aharon Dolgopolsky's «The Nostratic Macrofamily and Linguistic Paleontology»”, in Starostin, G. S., editor, Trudy po jazykoznaniju [Proceedings in Linguistics]‎ (in Russian), Moscow: Jazyki slavjanskix kulʹtur, →ISBN, page 762
* ↑ Starostin, S. A. (2007) “Problema genetičeskovo rodstva i klassifikacii kavkazskix jazykov s točki zrenija bazisnoj leksiki”, in Starostin, G. S., editor, Trudy po jazykoznaniju [Proceedings in Linguistics]‎ (in Russian), Moscow: Jazyki slavjanskix kulʹtur, →ISBN, page 539, remarking that the etymology of the Svan word is uncertain and that no Proto-Kartvelian form is reconstructible

## Laz
### Noun

კალმახი • (ǩalmaxi)
* Alternative form of კარმახა (ǩarmaxa)

## Mingrelian
### Alternative forms

* კალმახა (ḳalmaxa)
* კაჲმახა (ḳaymaxa) — Martvili–Bandza

### Etymology

From Georgian კალმახი (ḳalmaxi), კალმახა (ḳalmaxa), ultimately from Old Armenian կարմրախայտ (karmraxayt).

### Noun

კალმახი • (ḳalmaxi) (plural კალმახეფი)
* trout

#### Derived terms

* ოკალმახე (oḳalmaxe, a toponym, literally “trout-place”)

### Adjective

კალმახი • (ḳalmaxi)
* (figuratively, of a person) very beautiful

#### Descendants

* → Abkhaz: а-калмаҳа (a-kʼalmaḥa), а-калма́ҳ (a-kʼalmáḥ), а-камла́ҳ (a-kʼamláḥ)

### References

* Kajaia, Otar (2005) “კალმახი”, in Megrul-kartuli leksiḳoni [Mingrelian–Georgian Dictionary], online version prepared by Joost Gippert, Frankfurt am Main, published 2001–2004, page 661
* Kipšidze, Iosif (1914) “კალმახი”, in Грамматика мингрельского (иверского) языка с хрестоматией и словарем [Grammar of the Mingrelian (Iverian) Language with a Reader and a Dictionary] (Материалы по яфетическому языкознанию; 7)‎ (in Russian), Saint Petersburg: Academy Press, page 251b
* Ġapʻancʻyan, Grigor (1961) Hayocʻ lezvi patmutʻyun. Hin šrǰan [History of the Armenian Language. Ancient Period] (in Armenian), Yerevan: Academy Press, page 89