Etymology
The word "Yasa" or "Yassa" is existent in both Turkic and Mongolic languages, however it is believed that the word comes from the Turkic verb "yas-" which means "to spread" in English. It is assumed that the word probably originated in Uighur Turkic and was firstly used by Uighur Turks. Another possibility is the Mongolian verb "zas-" or "yas-" which means "to set in order" in English. "Tsereg zasakh" is a phrase commonly found in old Mongolian texts like the Secret History that means "to set the soldiers in order" in the sense of rallying the soldiers before a battle. The supreme executive body of the present-day Mongolian government is called the "Zasag-in gazar" which means the "place of Zasag". Zasag during the Qing dynasty referred to native provincial governors in Mongolia. The local office (called Zasag-in gazar) of the Zasag served as a court of first instance and included secretaries and other officials. The verb "zasaglakh" means "to govern" in Mongolian.
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