Nenets
/ˈnɛnɛts/noun
A member of an Indigenous Samoyedic people inhabiting parts of northern Russia, or the language they speak.
Did you know?Nenets is an English form of a Russian plural ethnonym, while the people’s own name comes from a word meaning “person” or “human being.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Samoyedic
Proto-Samoyedic
*ńenəts
“Reconstructed term meaning “person” or “human being”; the precise reconstruction and morphology remain scholarly matters.”
Early Samoyedic
Samoyedic
nenəts
“A native self-designation meaning “person” or “human being.””
18th Century
Russian
ненец
“Russian singular form for a member of the Nenets people.”
18th–19th Century
Russian
ненцы
“Russian plural ethnonym, “Nenets people.””
19th Century
English
Samoyed
“An older English designation for the Nenets and related peoples, later increasingly replaced by the Indigenous name.”
Modern English
English
Nenets
“The standard English ethnonym for the people and, by extension, their language.”