Nganasan
/ŋəˈnæsən/noun
A member of an Indigenous Samoyedic people of the Taymyr Peninsula in northern Siberia, or their language.
Did you know?Nganasan is both the name of an Indigenous people and their highly endangered Samoyedic language, traditionally spoken in the extreme north of Siberia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Samoyedic
Proto-Samoyedic
*nə̄sa-
“Reconstructed root associated with a person or human being; the precise development into the ethnonym is debated.”
18th Century
Nganasan
nəəsa
“An Indigenous self-designation traditionally interpreted in connection with “person” or “human.””
18th–19th Century
Russian
нганасаны
“Russian ethnonym for the Nganasan people, recorded during Russian exploration and administration of northern Siberia.”
19th–20th Century
Russian/English
Nganasan
“The transliterated international form used for the people and their Samoyedic language.”
Modern English
English
Nganasan
“The standard English ethnonym and language name.”