Comments:VEWT 291, TMN 3, 646-647, ЭСТЯ 5, 111-112, Лексика 189. Basically an Oghuz word, but cf. also Kum. göben, OKypch. köbelek 'shepherd's dog' (Bulgat, ad-Durr., Houts., AH) = Tur. dial. göbelek 'puppy' (possibly < Kypch.), see ЭСТЯ ibid. Despite ЭСТЯ, Kirgh. qara köbölök 'evil spirit appearing as a girl dressed in black and with a black greyhound' is rather = köbölök 'butterfly' (cf. the archaic mythological motive of evil spirit appearing as a butterfly), but a contamination with the word for dog attested in Old Kypchak also cannot be excluded. However, Kalm. köwlǝg 'greyhound' is not < Kirgh., but from Old Kypchak. The same source is probable for Russ. кобель, dimin. кобелёк (a re-analysis?) - the word is absent in other Slavic languages, the list of absolutely hopeless etymological attempts can be found in Фасмер II 267. It was attested for the first time in 1599 as a term for a hounting hound: у государевы царевы охоты у кобелей у меделянскихъ; the form кобелек (attested in 1673) see in СРЯ XI-XVIII, 7, 208. Turk. > Hung. kopó 'bloodhound', see Gombocz 1912 (Doerfer in TMN 3, 647 objects, but the word has no Finno-Ugric etymology).
