LEXEMES ABOUT SCIENCE AND ENLIGHTENMENT IN HISTORICAL WORKS

Abstract

The article studies the lexical field of science and enlightenment in historical works of the Turkic and Uzbek written tradition, with special attention to the semantic interaction of native Turkic, Arabic, Persian and mixed lexical layers. The analysis focuses on the ways in which the lexemes ilm, fan, ma’rifat, hikmat, bilig, uqush, aql, idrok, tafakkur, kitob, qalam, ustod, madrasa and related units function not merely as isolated words but as cultural signs that encode medieval and early modern concepts of knowledge, moral maturity, statecraft, education and social responsibility. The material is interpreted through historical-lexicological, semantic-field and contextual methods. The paper argues that historical works use the language of knowledge in two interconnected directions: first, to describe practical learning, writing, teaching and scholarly authority; second, to construct an ethical model in which enlightenment is inseparable from justice, discipline, wisdom and service to society. The results show that the lexicon of science and enlightenment represents a stable conceptual core of Uzbek literary history and remains important for contemporary linguistic, cultural and educational studies.