Etymology
Nivkh (plural Nivkhgu), an endonym, means "person" in the Nivkh language. They may also be referred to as Nivkhi in 1920's Western literature, due to romanization of the Russian term "нивхи", which is the plural of "нивх" (nivkh). In the seventeenth and eightieth centuries, Russian explorers first termed the group Gilyak (also Giliaks or Giliatski). The etymology of the name "Gilyak" is disputed by linguists, with some believing the name originated from an exonym given to the Nivkhs by a nearby Tungusic group. Other scholars believe that "Gilyak" derives from Kile, another nearby Tungusic group that the Russians had mistakenly named Nivkhs.
Read more about this topic: Nivkh People
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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