Proto-Altaic: *agu-la
Meaning: uninhabited place, wilderness
Russian meaning: незаселенное место, пустошь
Comments: Poppe 58. A Western isogloss. May be derived from the root reflected in TM as *agī- 'to walk without a road', 'wilderness' (ТМС 1, 13; its borrowing from Mong. aɣui 'wide', suggested by Poppe 1972, 101, Doerfer MT 123, is highly dubious). Note that vowel length in PT *aglak is unknown; if the original meaning of the root was 'to nomadize', one is tempted to compare also PT *āgɨl 'settlement' (originally perhaps 'nomadic settlement'; see Лексика 492-493, 522-523, ЭСТЯ 1, 65-66, 83-85, TMN 2, 82-84, Stachowski 257), whence probably MMong., WMong. ajil id. ( > Evk. ail etc., see Doerfer MT 125). Not borrowed from Turkic, but rather genuine may also be WMong. ajimak 'a group of ajil's' (TMN 1, 184-185: Mong. > Khak., Tuva ajmaq (see also ЭСТЯ 1, 110), Man. ajman etc.).
