POLOVTSI

The name of the nomadic Polovtsi nation has not yet had a convincing interpretation. It may emerge if we compare the names of this people in different languages. For example, the Germans called the Polovtsi by the word "fallones/ phalagi". Excellent starting material for analysis. We discard the adjective suffixes "-on" (Indo-European and Kartvelian) and "-ag" (Ossetian, that is, Iranian-Scythian) and are left with the root "fal". From Georgian phonetics, we remember that the sound [f] is a phantom one, corresponding to the Georgian "ფ", that is, [p] with aspiration (that is why in European languages ​​"f" is identified with "ph").

We look for this root in Kartvelian dictionaries and find it in the adjective "п(х)алаур" (ფალაური), which means "Pahlavi". That is, the famous Iranian Parthian people, who in the third century BC had their own large empire. Actually, "Persian" and "Farsi" are twisted "Parthian". The letter "h" in most languages ​​is silent, so we are left with the root "pala", which we were looking for. In Middle Persian, "Пехлеви" is written as "Pahlaw", even the letter "w" is present here. Now we can compare "Polovtsi" to "Pala"/"Palaw" and understand that in fact the name should have been written as "Palavtsi".

What does all this mean? The Polovtsi were not Turkic, as they are attributed in all textbooks. They were Iranian-speaking. As were the Scythians, whose descendants the same textbooks often are called Polovtsi. In general, Polovtsi seem to be Scythians, and we were able to prove this through a Georgian dictionary.

But that's not all. The Polovtsi also have another popular name - "Kumans". The adjective suffix "-an" does not raise any questions. We are looking for the root "kum". It is present in the Kartvelian substantiated adjective "kumeli" (ქუმელი), which in Chanturia's dictionary means "oatmeal". Hence, "kum-" must simply mean "oats". And indeed, the Megrelian word "kumu" means "seeds" (both flax and rye).

So, "Kuman" is "Ovsiuk", a resident of the country of oats. We pay special attention to this, since Herodotus's nomadic Sauromatians in our book are also treated as residents of the country of oats.

And now we should remember how the Georgians used to call the Ossetians, who are considered descendants of all these Scythian-like tribes like the Alans, Huns, Sarmatians, Sauromatians, Avars, etc (which they are not). They called them "Ovsi". The etymology of the word is unknown. It may well be a derivative of the Slavic "oves (oats)". Why? Because the names of these tribes have been derived from "oves" twice already.

Why exactly oats? Because all these tribes were nomadic. And oats is the main food for horses.

A bit long and complicated, but nevertheless, some food for further research.