Proto-Mongolian: *ar-
Meaning: 1 poorly grown, thin 2 space 3 island
Russian meaning: 1 редкий, покрытый редкой растительностью 2 пространство, промежуток 3 остров
Written Mongolian: aral 3 (L 48)
Khalkha: armaG 1, aral 3
Buriat: arma 2, armagar 1, alar 3
Kalmuck: arū, armъG 1, arḷ 3
Ordos: aral 3 armaq 2
Dongxian: aran 3
Baoan: alǝr, arǝn (Tungren)
Dagur: alla, aral 3 (Тод. Даг. 120)
Shary-Yoghur: aral 3
Monguor: rāl, ral (Huzu), arā(r) (SM 9, 11) 3
Comments: KW 14, 15, MGCD 116, TMN 1, 119-120. The original meaning of the root *ar- must have been 'space between banks (or river branches)', whence *ara-ɣu, *ara-ma(g) 'spaced, thin' and *ara-l 'island'. Mong. aral > Chag., Kirgh. etc. aral 'island; thicket, island covered with thick bushes'; Evk. aral 'wood island in a steppe'. Despite TMN ibid., "thicket" is obviously a secondary semantic development in Turkic, because only the meaning "island" is attested in Mong. Bur. alar > Yak. alar, Russ. Siber. alár (Аникин 80).
