Where does “Көкшетау” come from?

Көкшетау (Kazakh) comes from Kazakh тау, from Common Kypchak *taw, from Proto-Turkic tāg — mountain.

Ancestry of “Көкшетау”, step by step

Көкшетау traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Kazakh тау

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Kazakhтауmountain
2Common Kypchak*taw—
3Proto-Turkictāgmountain

via Kazakh көк

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Kazakhкөкblue
2Proto-Turkic*kȫk—
Every word from Proto-Turkic tāg →Every word from Common Kypchak *taw →Every word from Kazakh тау →