Qıpçaq
/qɯpˈt͡ʃɑq/noun
Qıpçaq is the self-designation of the medieval Kipchak Turkic people and the name of their historical language.
Did you know?The Qıpçaqs became known across Europe and the Islamic world under different names, including Kipchaks, Cumans, and Polovtsians, while their language survived in the 14th-century Codex Cumanicus.
Etymological Timeline
11th Century
Middle Turkic
qïpčaq
“An ethnonym for a Turkic steppe people; the word is recorded in medieval Turkic sources.”
1072–1074
Karakhanid Turkic
qïpčaq
“Recorded by Mahmud al-Kashgari in the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk as the name of a Turkic group.”
12th–13th Centuries
Persian and Arabic
Qifjāq / Qibjāq
“The name appears in Islamic historical and geographical writings for the Kipchak confederation.”
13th Century
Eastern European languages
Kipchak / Cuman / Polovtsian
“Different neighboring peoples used distinct names for the same broad confederation and its political groupings.”
14th Century
Kipchak Turkic
qïpčaq tili
“The Kipchak language is represented by texts such as the Codex Cumanicus, a multilingual manuscript used for communication and Christian missionary work.”
Modern English
English
Kipchak
“The conventional English form for the medieval Turkic people, language, and historical cultural sphere.”
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