Harrowing one’s field and flattening one’s ears: Old Uyghur yapır- and yapırgu

The Old Uyghur noun yapırgu should probably be translated ‘harrow’ rather than ‘blanket’. The noun seems to survive only in dialects of Modern Uyghur. Its verbal base yapur- is documented both in Old Uyghur and in Karakhanid Turkic, and is still in use in several modern languages in different but related meanings. This paper will discuss these Old Turkic words and their present-day descendants.