Where does “Kashi” come from?

Kashi is an English place name derived from Mandarin 喀什, a Chinese transliteration of a Central Asian toponym with uncertain original meaning.

Ancestry of “Kashi”, step by step

Kashi traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Chinese Mandarin 喀什

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese Mandarin喀什—
2ManchuᡴᠠᠰᡳᡤᠠᡵKashgar
3Written Oiratᡍᠠᠱᡅᡎᠠᠷ—
4Persianکاشغر—
5Proto-Iraniangr̥Híšmountain
6Proto-Indo-Iraniangr̥Híšmountain
7Proto-Indo-EuropeangʷerH-to express approval; praise; to elevate

via Hindi काशी

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1HindiकाशीKashi, a name for Varanasi
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʷerH- →Every word from Proto-Indo-Iranian gr̥Híš →Every word from Proto-Iranian gr̥Híš →