Abstract
The problem of dynamic changes in the vocabulary of the Kazakh language has become particularly relevant in recent years. Many researchers note that a deep and comprehensive study of obsolete words is of undoubted interest, since these words affect the development of the vocabulary of the language. The language, which is constantly updated with new words, also refuses words that have become unnecessary for certain reasons. And what keeps these words in the language-proverbs and sayings, phraseological units. They are similar to sarcophagi for obsolete words. This article analyzes the obsolete words «bapan» and «sapan», preserved in the proverb «Basy – bapan, ayagi – sapan». In Kazakh linguistics, opinions about the meaning and etymology of these words are erroneous. As a result of the language analysis, it was determined that the word «bapan» is the fluffy top of the reed, and the word «sapan» is the stem of the reed. The data of the Kazakh language is compared with the data of the Kyrgyz and other Turkic languages. The aim of the study is to show the effectiveness of the research in the context, and not in the individual selection of obsolete words in the composition of proverbs and sayings. In accordance with this goal, an attempt was made to determine the origin and meaning of obsolete words in this proverb. Keywords: archaisms, proverbs, sayings, etymology, paremiology.