Where does “Kozak” come from?
Kozak (Polish) comes from Yiddish קאָזאַק, from Ukrainian коза́к, from Old East Slavic козакъ, from Kazakh қазақ, from Persian ـستان, from Middle Persian -stʾn', from Proto-Indo-Iranian stáHnam, from Proto-Indo-European stéh₂-no-m — to stand.
Kozak (Polish): Cossack
Ancestry of “Kozak”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Yiddish | קאָזאַק | Cossack |
| 2 | Ukrainian | коза́к | Cossack |
| 3 | Old East Slavic | козакъ | — |
| 4 | Kazakh | қазақ | Kazakh |
| 5 | Persian | ـستان | -istan, -estan, -stan |
| 6 | Middle Persian | -stʾn' | makes nouns of places; of indeterminate function |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | stáHnam | the act of standing; position, location, place |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | stéh₂-no-m | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | steh₂- | to stand |