Polovtsy
/pəˈlɒvtsi/noun
A historical name used chiefly in East Slavic sources for the Cuman–Kipchak Turkic nomadic peoples of the medieval Eurasian steppe.
Did you know?The Polovtsy are better known in Western European sources as the Cumans and in many eastern sources as Kipchaks, showing how one people could acquire radically different names across Eurasia.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Slavic (proposed)
Proto-Slavic
*polvъ / *polovъ
“A reconstructed adjective associated by some scholars with pale or yellowish coloring; this proposed source remains debated.”
11th Century
Old East Slavic
половьци (polovьci)
“The Polovtsy, an East Slavic designation for the Cuman–Kipchak nomads.”
11th–13th Centuries
Medieval Greek
Κομάνοι (Kománoi)
“Cumans, the Byzantine Greek name for the same broad confederation of steppe peoples.”
12th Century
Medieval Latin
Cumani
“Cumans, the Latin form used in European chronicles.”
19th Century onward
English
Polovtsy
“A learned English borrowing referring to the Cumans or Kipchaks, especially in historical and literary contexts.”