Etymology

ordos

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Today it means: A region of China, enclosed by the great northern bend of the Yellow River and the Wei River to the south; also called Ordos Loop. Full definition →

cmg ᠣᠷᠳᠣᠰ ← Proto-Turkic *or-
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The story

  1. Proto-Turkic · derived from*or-“army, place of staying of the army, ruler etc.”
  2. cmg · derived fromᠣᠷᠳᠣ“palace”
  3. cmg · borrowed fromᠣᠷᠳᠣᠰ“palaces”
  4. English todayOrdos

From Classical Mongolian ᠣᠷᠳᠣᠰ (ordos, “palaces”), from Classical Mongolian ᠣᠷᠳᠣ (ordo, “palace”) + ᠊ᠰ (-s, plural suffix); probably from Proto-Turkic *or- (“army, place of staying of the army, ruler etc.”). Originally in reference to the portable mausoleums of Genghis Khan (known as the "eight white yurts"), which were used following the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368. These were entrusted to caretakers, who worshipped at the mausoleums as the "soul guards" of the khan, and who moved to the Ordos plateau in the years following. After a time, both the people and their territory took the name, due to the presence of the mausoleums there.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.