UKRAINE

The Megrelian demonstrative pronoun თე [t(h)e], as recorded in Otari Kajaia’s dictionary, functions similarly to demonstrative pronouns in many languages, often serving as a definite article—a grammatical element sometimes deemed artificial or redundant. Remarkably, this Megrelian pronoun aligns with the Ukrainian neuter demonstrative pronoun те (from the set той, та, ті), as well as the English definite article the. This correspondence suggests that the prefix te- or t- (when the root begins with a vowel) in numerous ancient toponyms can be interpreted as a demonstrative pronoun or definite article, revealing the true root of the name by isolating it from this prefix.

A particularly striking example is the ethnic name of the Trojans, recorded in Greek as Τεῦκρος (Teûkros) and often mistranslated in Russian sources as Тевкры ("Tevkri"). The Greek spelling includes a perispomeni (circumflex) over the upsilon (υ), indicating vowel length, which precludes interpreting the upsilon as a consonant [v]. Such "consonantization" of Greek diphthongs is a feature of modern Greek, not ancient Greek, where diphthongs were pronounced as two distinct vowels. Moreover, if te- is a definite article attached to a root beginning with a vowel, the two adjacent vowels (te- and u-) cannot form a diphthong, as they belong to separate morphemes. Consequently, the name Тевкры ("Tevkri") is a misnomer. The Trojans were more accurately Teukroi, or, in essence, The Ukri—simply put, the Trojans were Ukri.

This parallel between Trojans and Ukri finds corroboration in Sicily, where, according to Virgil’s Aeneid, the Trojan (i.e., Ukr) hero Aeneas and his followers landed twice. Although their stay in Sicily was brief, the Ukri left a lasting linguistic imprint through at least two notable toponyms. First, the mountain and small town of Ucria, located thirty kilometers from Capo d’Orlando, preserves the root ucr- with the Megrelian suffix -ia. Over time, Ucria evolved into an Italian surname, from which the distinctly Kartvelian surname Ucriani emerged. A related French surname, Saucre—likely a former toponym—further supports this connection. Second, the area around Capo d’Orlando, known in antiquity as Agaturnum, reveals another Kartvelian link. Removing the Latin suffix -um, the name becomes Agaturni, an Old Kartvelian plural form of the adjective agaturi, derived from the noun agat. While agat is not attested in Kartvelian languages, it corresponds to the ancient Greek agathos, meaning "good." This root also appears in the name Agathon, borne by one of the few surviving sons of the Trojan king Priam. If Agathon accompanied Aeneas to Sicily—or arrived independently—Agaturni could designate his followers, literally "the Agatians." Intriguingly, Virgil identifies Aeneas’s closest companion and right-hand man as Achat, a name strikingly similar to Agathon.

This narrative extends to ancient Ukraine, where Herodotus mentions the tribe Agathursoi, a name that closely mirrors Agathurni from Sicily. Herodotus places the Agathursoi along the Dnister River, positioning them as potential ancestors of a people who, a millennium later, were referred to by the Arabs as Sakaliba—a term that eventually evolved into "Slavs." This historical-linguistic chain can be summarized as follows: Trojan Ukroi → Sicilian Ucria → Sicilian Agaturni → Ukrainian Agathursoi → Ukraine as the land of the Ukri.

The toponym Ukraine itself offers further insight. While commonly known as Ukraine, the Spanish rendering is Ucrania, featuring the suffix -ain, which is notably Basque in origin (compare to Espainia, Beriain). This is not the only linguistic parallel between Ukrainian and Basque, a language that may itself belong to the Kartvelian family. Other shared features include the Iberian suffix -enko, seen in terms like jijonenco and pirinenco, and the Basque infinitive balakatu ("to flatter"), whose ending -atu closely matches the Ukrainian infinitive ending -ati (adjusting for the ancient pronunciation of upsilon as [u]). These Ukrainian-Basque connections form a crucial part of the "two Iberias" paradigm, a promising area for future research.

Finally, we must explore the Kartvelian etymology of the root ukri. Several possibilities exist in Kartvelian dictionaries:

1. უყრია [ukria] – "abandoned, dispersed";
2. უყრის [ukris] – "abandons, disperses," though with the negative prefix u-, it can also mean "not dispersed, gathered," as ყრა [kra] means "dispersing";
3. უქრება [ukreba] – "extinguished, blown out";
4. უქრის [ukris] – "blows";
5. უქროლებს [ukrolebs] – "blows strongly";
6. უკრიალებს [ukrialebs] – "makes shiny";
7. უკარო [ukaro] – "doorless."

However, the interpretation that best captures the spirit of the Ukrainian nation is:
უქრობელი, უქრობლი, უქრობი [ukrobeli, ukrobli, ukrobi] – "inextinguishable," "unbending." This meaning derives from the masdar kroba ("to extinguish"), rooted in kari ("wind"), with the negative prefix u-. While the masdar ukroba is not explicitly listed in dictionaries, its derivative ukrobeli is attested, and ukroba clearly yields the root ukri, meaning "inextinguishable." This root not only aligns with the true name of the nation but also encapsulates its enduring, resilient character.

As the Ukrainian poet Ivan Kotlyarevsky might have intuited, this etymology brings us closer to the profound truth of the Ukri’s identity, linking their ancient Trojan origins to their modern Ukrainian legacy.