Kaabakas, kabajantsik ja nood taolised…
Authors: Ernits Enn 
Published: December 2024

Kaabakas, kabajantsik, and the like…

Keywords: linguistics, affective words, names for unlikable persons, names for animals, names for supernatural forces, distribution, origin, formation, Estonian language

This article examines common names for persons and supernatural beings with negative connotations in the Estonian language. These names are thought to originate from either onomatopoeic-descriptive roots or (as the author prefers) affective stems, the protoforms of which can be reconstructed as *ka(a)p(p)-. The analysis covers their distribution across Estonian subdialects, written texts, and runic songs. It also considers the etymology of these terms and tries to approach them from a somewhat novel perspective.

Noun derivatives of the *ka(a)p(p)– protostem are found in all Estonian dialects. While their prevalence seems to vary between dialects, a closer examination (Table 1) reveals that the largest number of derivative forms are present in the Mulgi and northeast coastal dialects, with the central dialect showing the least variety. Other dialects, on average, have one recorded derivative per subdialect.

Among the 20 words analyzed, which refer to either persons or supernatural beings, kaabakas ‘tough; villain; hooligan’ is the most widespread, appearing in 54 subdialects. This is followed by kaapjalg ‘thief; tramp; lame horse; haunting ghost’ in 20 subdialects, and kabajantsik ‘rogue, rascal’ in 13 subdialects (Table 2). The remaining terms occur in one or two subdialects each. Nine of the *ka(a)p(p)– stem nouns describe solely humans, with meanings such as ‘tough’, ‘rogue’ (kaabask, kaaberdus, kaabert, kaaberts, kaaper, kaavakas, kabajantsik, raatskaaper; although kontkaabakas can also mean ‘uninvited guest’); five words refer solely to supernatural entities such as ‘ghost’ and ‘devil’ (kaabajalg, kaabasjalg, kapatjalg, kapats, öökaaper); two words refer to both humans and animals (kabujalg ‘maiden; young man; lively child; hen’, kabusjalg ‘agile child or horse’); one lexeme applies to both persons and supernatural beings (kaabakas); one word refers to a person, animal, or supernatural being (kaapjalg); one lexeme is used to describe animals and supernatural beings (kappjalg ‘horse with white legs; ghost’); and one term refers solely to animals (kabik ‘little hen’). Polysemantic words, the different meanings of which have been recorded across a small number of subdialects, thus remain an exception.

Etymologically, most of these words (13–14) are derived from the *kaapp– stem, three or four from the *kap– stem (kabajantsik?, kabik, kabujalg, kabusjalg), and three from the *kapp– stem (kapatjalg, kapats, kappjalg). Kaabakas, for example, is associated with the word kaapama (< *kaappa-) ‘to scrape once; to paw; to grasp; to escape’. The first part of the word kabajantsik derives from either the same verb stem or kabama (< *kapa-) ‘to touch, to finger; to snatch, to grasp; to tread, to grope; to move quickly; to flounder’. Kabujalg is associated with the verb stem kabuma (< *kapu-) ‘to climb’, possibly evolving from ‘to scratch’ or a similar word.

These stems are combined with a suffix expressing either single or multiple actions, -a or -i, respectively, as well as -u, the function of which is less clearly defined (in the case of kabuma). Additional suffixes include -er (< *-ar; kaaper, raatskaaper, öökaaper), -k ~ -kas (kaabakas, kontkaabakas, kaavakas, kabik), -rdus (kaaberdus), -rt (kaabert), -rts (kaaberts), -sk (kaabask), and -ts (kapats).

Compound words make up more than half (11) of the terms: kaabajalg, kaabasjalg, kaapjalg, kabajantsik, kabujalg, kabusjalg, kapatjalg, kappjalg, kontkaabakas, raatskaaper, and öökaaper. In seven instances, the initial part is the *ka(a)p(p)– stem or its derivative, and the main part is -jalg ‘-foot’. In three compound words (kontkaabakas, raatskaaper, öökaaper), the main part is a stem derivative, while in one case (kabajantsik) it is a suffixal personal name derived from the given name Jaan.

The phonemes s and t in the initial part of the compound words kaabasjalg, kabusjalg and kapatjalg warrant a separate investigation. The term kappjalg would be a good name for a regular horse, but has never been recorded. This lexeme, taken to refer to a specimen with special characteristics, indicates either a mixing of terms or the loss of original meaning. Among the human-focused terms, there are three compound words: in two cases, the stem in question forms the main part of the compound word (kontkaabakas, the swear word raatskaaper), while in one case it forms the initial part (kabajantsik). Among the names for supernatural beings, on the other hand, compound words make up the majority, with the exception of kapats.

The origins of affective words lie in sound imitation, though their meanings have evolved over time, more or less obscuring the initial onomatopoeia. Associated with sounds, these words designate actions involving hands or feet, mostly from an affective perspective, denoting the negative meaning of ‘vagrant’, ‘grabber’, ‘escaper’, etc. The resulting substantives carry strongly negative connotations, with the exception of kabujalg and kabusjalg.