Editing Circassians (section)

===Circassian, Cherkess===
{{see also|Circassians (historical ethnonym)}}

The word ''Circassian'' ({{IPAc-en|s|ər|ˈ|k|æ|s|i|ə|n|z}} {{respell|sər|KASS|ee|ənz}}) is an [[exonym]], Latinized from [[Russian language|Russian]] ''Cherkess'' ({{langx|ru|Черкес|}}; {{langx|ady|Чэркэс/Шэрджэс|}}), which is of debated origin.<ref>[[Douglas Harper]], [[Online Etymology Dictionary|Etymonline]] states:

"''1550s, in reference to a people people of the northern Caucasus along the Black Sea, from Circassia, Latinized from Russian Cherkesŭ, which is of unknown origin. Their name for themselves is Adighe. Their language is non-Indo-European. The race was noted for the "fine physical formation of its members, especially its women" [Century Dictionary], who were much sought by neighboring nations as concubines, etc."''</ref><ref name="Olson3" /> The term, in Russian, was traditionally applied to all Circassians before [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] times, but it has since usually referred only to Circassians living in northern [[Karachay-Cherkessia]],<ref name="Olson3" /> a [[Federal subjects of Russia|federal subject]] of Russia, where they are indigenous and were about 12% of the population in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/perepis_itogi1612.htm |work=gks.ru |script-title=ru:Информационные материалы об окончательных итогах Всероссийской переписи населения 2010 года |title=Informatsionnyye materialy ob okonchatel'nykh itogakh Vserossiyskoy perepisi naseleniya 2010 goda |trans-title=Information materials on the final results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census |access-date=5 August 2023 |language=ru |archive-date=30 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430211642/https://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/perepis_itogi1612.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Всероссийская перепись 2010, Итоги [http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/Documents/Vol4/pub-04-01.pdf Т. 4. – Табл. 1. Национальный состав населения] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906073144/http://www.perepis2002.ru/content.html?id=11|date=6 September 2018}} (скачать: [http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/Documents/Vol4/pub-04-01.xlsx] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620143101/http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/Documents/Vol4/pub-04-01.xlsx|date=20 June 2013}})</ref> In English, it still refers to all Circassians.

The origin of the term "Circassian" is disputed. One view is that its root stems from Turkic languages, and means "head choppers" or "warrior killers", because of the Circassians' battle practices.<ref>Yamisha, Jonty. ''The Circassians: An Introduction''</ref> Other sources argue that the term comes from [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] ''Jerkes'', meaning "one who blocks a path".<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Bashqawi |first=Adel |title=Circassia: Born to Be Free |date=15 September 2017 |publisher=Xlibris |isbn=978-1543447644}}</ref>{{sfn|Richmond|2013|p=back cover}} Some believe it comes from the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] name of the region, [[Siraces]]. According to another view, its origin is [[Persian language|Persian]] and combines two parts, ''kar'' ("mountain") and ''kās'' ("region", in [[Pahlavi language|Pahlavi]]), meaning "mountainous region". The spelling ''Cherkess'' may be an abbreviation of Persian ''Chahār-kas'' ("four people"), denoting four tribes.{{sfn|Reza|Hirtenstein|Gholami|2021}} [[Ali ibn al-Athir]] (died c. 1232/3) and [[Ibn Khaldun]] (died 1406) used the term ''Jahārkas'', but the Persian hypothesis remains uncertain.{{sfn|Reza|Hirtenstein|Gholami|2021}}

In early Russian sources, Circassians are called ''Kasogi'', but one view holds that the modern term "Cherkes" derives from ''Kerket'', the name of one of the ancient Circassian tribes.{{sfn|Reza|Hirtenstein|Gholami|2021}}

In languages spoken geographically close to the Caucasus, the native people originally had other names for the Circassians (such as [[Georgian language|Georgian]]: ჯიქი, ''Jiqi''), but with Russian influence, the name has been settled as ''Cherkess''. It is the same or similar in many world languages that cite these languages.

The ''Encyclopaedia Islamica'' adds: "The Cherkess: the Kabardians and the western Adyghe people share a common language, which is spoken by the north-western Caucasian people, and belongs to the family known as Abkhazian-Adyghe".{{sfn|Reza|Hirtenstein|Gholami|2021}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Mousavi-Bojnourdi |first=Kazem |author-link=Kazem Mousavi-Bojnourdi |title=[[Encyclopaedia Islamica]] |quote=This is because the Cherkess, the Kabardians and the western Adyghe people share a common language, which is spoken by the north-western Caucasian (Abkhazi) people, and belongs to the family known as Abkhazian-Adyghe}}</ref>

In Medieval Oriental and European texts, the Adyghe people were known by the name Cherkess/Circassians.{{sfn|Reza|Hirtenstein|Gholami|2021}} In Persian sources, ''Charkas/Cherkes'' is used to refer to the "actual" Circassians of the northwest Caucasus, and in some occasions as a general designation for [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasians]] who live beyond [[Derbent]] (Darband).{{sfn|Manz|Haneda|1990|pages=816–819}}