Bakhmut

The story

1. Persian · borrowed fromپهن“wide, broad”
2. Ukrainian · derived fromбахма́т“pony; war-horse, pack-horse”
3. Ukrainian · borrowed fromБахму́т
4. English todayBakhmut

Borrowed from Ukrainian Бахму́т (Baxmút). Named after the nearby Bakhmutka River (aka Bakhmut River), the name of which apparently derives from the word Ukrainian бахма́т (baxmát, “pony; war-horse, pack-horse”) (cf. Russian бахма́т (baxmát) and Polish bachmat), from a Turkic language. Regarding the word бахмат (baxmat) (and its Russian and Polish cognates), linguists offer the following hypotheses: * It is considered a borrowing from a Turkic (Crimean Tatar, or rather Nogai) language paχn at, in which it is explained (according to Lokotsch and Miklosich, for example) as a compound word formed from Persian پهن (pahn, “wide, broad”) (cf. Ottoman Turkish پهن (pehn)) + at (“horse”) of Common Turkic origin (cf. Nogai at, Crimean Tatar at). Vasmer considers this highly unlikely. * Menges derives it from a Turkic form of the name Mähmäd ("Mohammed") (cf. Old East Slavic Бохмитъ (Boxmitŭ, “Магомет/Magomet”). Presumably related place names: Бахматівці, Bachmatówka, Bachmackie Kolonie, Bahmut.