Yakut
/ˈjækʊt/noun
A member of the Sakha people of northeastern Siberia, or the Turkic language traditionally spoken by them.
Did you know?The people commonly called Yakuts call themselves Sakha, and the ethnonym “Yakut” probably reached Russian through Evenki rather than originating in the Sakha language itself.
Etymological Timeline
Before the 17th century
Sakha
Sakha
“The people’s own name for themselves; the ultimate meaning is debated.”
Early modern period
Evenki
Yako
“A form used by Evenki for the Sakha people; this is the leading immediate source proposed for the Russian ethnonym.”
17th century
Russian
Якут
“Yakut; the Russian exonym for a member of the Sakha people.”
17th century
Russian
Якутск
“Yakutsk, the city whose name means “of the Yakuts” or “Yakut settlement.””
18th–19th centuries
European languages
Yakut
“An ethnonym and name for the Turkic language of northeastern Siberia.”
Modern English
English
Yakut
“A traditional English name for the Sakha people, their language, or the region associated with them.”