388 
The westernmost of these languages is the Lapp. Now in 
Lapp the word lokke means both ten, -teen, and -ty. Thus we 
have — 
wit = 5 lokke = 10 wit-a-lokke = 50 
kut = 6 lokke = 10 kut-a-lokke = 60 
kolm = 3 lokke = 10 kolm-a-lokke = 80 
In the construction of these Lapp decades a formative or euphonic 
a is supplied between tlie digital and decadal sign, just as in the 
Etruscan decade, ce-a-lchl, where the first syllable is obviously 
the digit which appears on the dice as ci. 
The root l-k, with the meaning “ ten ” or “ ty,” is not confined 
to Lapp and Etruscan. It appears in various Finnic languages in 
an abraded and softened form, as in the Wogul lu = 10, or in the 
Tscheremiss lo = “ty” in ko-lo = 20. It is also found in the 
Turkic languages. For instance, in Koibal Tatar we have decades 
ending in -lex and -rek, as i-lex = 50, and k e-rek = 40. In 
Uiyur Tatar the guttural is softened, and we have lava = 10, a 
form transitional to the Finnic lu =10. Therefore, this Etruscan 
decade exists in each of the two great divisions of Altaic speech. 
It can also be traced in the Basque, a remote congener of the 
Finnic languages.* 
The second l in the Etruscan root l-k-l has to be accounted for. 
Now, there are several reasons for supposing that the Etruscans, 
like some other Turanian nations, counted by scores instead of by 
tens. In this case the suffix l-k-l ought to denote “ twenty.” Since 
the Turanian root l-k means “ ten,” the form l-k-l may be taken 
as a reduplicated form, l-k + l-k , or 10 + 10. Now, supplying a 
vowel, it is plain that in such a word as leklk, the final guttural 
would be very difficult to pronounce, and would be certain ulti- 
mately to disappear, leaving lekl to mean “ twenty.” 
It may therefore be affirmed that the Turanian languages afford 
a complete and satisfactory explanation of this Etruscan decade, f 
The scientific method of research is to subject any supposed 
discovery to every possible test of its correctness. If the true key 
has been found, it ought to open all the wards of the lock. Now 
the two triads of Etruscan numerals — 
Basque, ogei= 20. Cf. Georgian ozai ~ 20 , 
t I am not prepared to affirm that the Aryan d-6-n= 10 may not ultimately 
be connected with the Turanian l-k= 10. In fact, in some of the Teutonic 
languages there seem to be faint echoes or survivals of the primitive Turanian 
form. Thus the l has been retained in the English numerals c -Icvcn and 
t wq-Ivc ; while in the Lithuanian, which approximates more closely to Finnic 
forms than other Aryan languages, we have the exceptional and anomalous 
numeral try-lika= 13. 
