Tmutarakan

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proper noun

A medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town located on the Taman Peninsula.

OriginRussian Тмутарака́нь ← Ancient Greek Ταμάταρχα ← ady Тамэтӏаркъу →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. historicalA medieval Kievan Rus' principality and trading town located on the Taman Peninsula.

Origin

  1. adyТамэтӏаркъу
  2. Ancient GreekΤαμάταρχα
  3. RussianТмутарака́нь
  4. EnglishTmutarakan

Borrowed from Russian Тмутарака́нь (Tmutarakánʹ), which is from the Byzantine Ancient Greek Ταμάταρχα (Tamátarkha). The Greek toponym is likely of Adyghe origin, deriving from the local native name West Circassian Тамэтӏаркъу (Tamɛtʼarqʷu). The Russian spelling is the result of a folk etymology that altered the word to fit the native Russian words тьма (tʹma, “darkness”) and тарака́н (tarakán, “cockroach”) (literally "dark cockroach").

More words from Russian, Ancient Greek, ady

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Tmutarakan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tmutarakan

MLA

“Tmutarakan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tmutarakan. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Tmutarakan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Tmutarakan.

Source: Tmutarakan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.