Kuman
/ˈkuːmən/noun
A historical name for the Cuman people, a medieval Turkic-speaking nomadic group of the Eurasian steppe.
Did you know?The Kuman people are better known in many European sources as the Cumans, while Byzantine and Slavic records preserved several different names for the same powerful confederation.
Etymological Timeline
Early Medieval Period
Early Turkic
quman
“Probable ancestral ethnonym; its exact derivation remains disputed, with proposed links to a word meaning pale or yellowish.”
11th Century
Turkic
Quman
“Name used for a major nomadic Turkic confederation inhabiting the Eurasian steppe.”
11th–13th Century
Byzantine Greek
Koumanoi
“The Cumans, as recorded in Byzantine historical sources.”
11th–13th Century
Old East Slavic
Polovtsi
“The Cumans, literally associated in Slavic interpretation with a pale or yellowish appearance.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
Cumani
“The Cuman people in Latin chronicles and administrative records.”
Modern English
English
Kuman
“An established variant form of Cuman, referring to the medieval Turkic people or their language.”
Explore more surprising origins