Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Cossack” come from?

Cossack (English) comes from French cosaque, from Polish Kozak, from Yiddish קאָזאַק, from Ukrainian коза́к, from Old East Slavic козакъ, from Kazakh қазақ, from Persian ـستان, from Middle Persian -stʾn' — to stand.

Cossack (English): A member or descendant of an originally nomadic...

Definitions

  1. A member or descendant of an originally nomadic...

Ancestry of “Cossack”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchcosaqueCossack
2PolishKozakCossack
3YiddishקאָזאַקCossack
4Ukrainianкоза́кCossack
5Old East Slavicкозакъ—
6KazakhқазақKazakh
7Persianـستان-istan, -estan, -stan
8Middle Persian-stʾn'makes nouns of places; of indeterminate function
9Proto-Indo-IranianstáHnamthe act of standing; position, location, place
10Proto-Indo-Europeanstéh₂-no-m—
11Proto-Indo-Europeansteh₂-to stand

Words derived from “Cossack”

  • cossack
  • Kossack
  • decossackization
Every word from Proto-Indo-European steh₂- →