Abkhaz (English)
Where does "Abkhaz" come from?
The name 'Abkhaz' journeyed into English via Russian, which had previously borrowed the term from Georgian. The word traces its ancient roots back to the plural form of the Abkhazian endonym *abazğa, reflecting a long history of cultural and linguistic exchange across the Caucasus region.
Full etymology tree
- Abkhaz (English), 'A Northwest Caucasian language spoken in Abkhazia.'
- borrowed абхаз (abxáz) (Russian), 'Abkhazian, Abkhaz person'
- borrowed აფხაზი (apxazi) (Georgian), 'Abkhaz person'
- inherited აფხაზი (apxazi) (Old Georgian)
- derived აფხაზა (apxaza) (Mingrelian)
- derived *abɣaza (Proto-form)
- derived *abazɣa (Proto-form)
- derived *абазӷа (abazğa) (Abkhaz)
- derived *abazɣa (Proto-form)
- derived *abɣaza (Proto-form)
- derived აფხაზა (apxaza) (Mingrelian)
- inherited აფხაზი (apxazi) (Old Georgian)
- borrowed აფხაზი (apxazi) (Georgian), 'Abkhaz person'
- borrowed абхаз (abxáz) (Russian), 'Abkhazian, Abkhaz person'
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris