Abstract
Color terminology constitutes a fundamental component of human cognition and linguistic categorization. Among basic color terms, red occupies a central position across cultures due to its strong physiological, emotional, and symbolic associations. This study provides a diachronic and cognitive-semantic analysis of the Uzbek lexeme qizil and the English lexeme red. Drawing upon historical linguistics, comparative philology, cognitive semantics, and linguacultural theory, the research examines early attestations from the Avesta, Old Turkic inscriptions, classical Uzbek poetry, Old English texts including Beowulf, and etymological dictionaries. The findings reveal that despite belonging to genetically unrelated language families (Turkic and Indo-European), both lexemes share a universal semantic core rooted in blood and fire imagery. Over time, metaphorical extensions developed toward domains of war, sacrifice, sacredness, beauty, morality, and socio-political symbolism. The study contributes to cross-linguistic color research by demonstrating convergent semantic evolution shaped by embodied cognition and cultural conceptualization.References
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