yol

Yol is a Turkish noun meaning road, street, path, or way. It is used in Turkish and Azerbaijani with the sense of a route or course to follow, and it often carries figurative meanings related to direction or conduct. The word belongs to the Turkic language family and has cognates in related languages such as Azerbaijani, Turkmen, and Kazakh, where similar terms denote road or way.

Etymology and scope: Yol originates from Turkic roots and remains a common core term across Turkic languages. In addition to its literal sense, it appears in expressions that describe movement, progress, and guidance. It is widely used in signage, maps, and everyday speech to denote physical routes as well as metaphorical paths in life.

Usage and examples: In Turkish, yol functions both as a concrete noun and as the basis for many compounds and idioms. Examples include yolculuk (journey), yola çıkmak (to set off on a trip), yol almak (to make progress or advance), yol vermek (to yield or give way), and yol göstermek (to show the way). The term also features in place names and descriptive phrases about travel, direction, and transportation.

See also: In regional contexts, yol reflects broader concepts of travel and route within Turkic-speaking communities, and its use extends to poetry and literature as a symbol of journey, fate, or choice.