Kyrgyzs
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 4.5 million | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Kyrgyzstan 3,804,788 |
|
 Uzbekistan
|
250,000 |
 China
|
143,500 |
 Russia
|
103,422 |
 Tajikistan
|
60,000 |
 Kazakhstan
|
23,274 |
 Afghanistan
|
1,130 |
 Ukraine
|
1,128 |
| Languages | |
| Kyrgyz, Russian | |
| Religion | |
Predominantly Sunni Islam
|
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Khakas, Tuvans, Altay people, Shors, Kazakhs, Mongols | |
|
^a At the 2009 census, ethnic Kyrgyz constituted roughly 71% of population of Kyrgyzstan (5.36 million). |
|
The Kyrgyz people (also spelled Kyrghyz and Kirghiz) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, primarily Kyrgyzstan.
There are several theories on the origin of ethnonym Kyrgyz. It is often said to be derived from the Turkic word kyrk ("forty"), with -iz being an old plural suffix, so Kyrgyz literally means "a collection of forty tribes". It also means "imperishable", "inextinguishable", "immortal", "unconquerable" or "unbeatable", as well as its association with the epic hero Manas, who – according to a founding myth – unified the 40 tribes against the Khitans. A rival myth, recorded in 1370 in the Yuán Shǐ ("history of Yuan"), concerns 40 women born on a steppe motherland.
The original root of the ethnonym appears to have been the word kirkün (Chinese Tszyan-kun), probably meaning "field people" (or, arguably, "field Huns"). This and the Chinese transcription Tse-gu (Gekun; Jiankun) suggest that the original ethnonym was Kirkut (pronounced "kirgut") and/or Kirkur ("kirgur"), both of which can be traced back to kirkün. By the time of the Mongol Empire, the meaning of the word kirkun had apparently been forgotten – as was shown by variations in readings of it across different reductions of the Yuán Shǐ. This may have led to the adoption of Kyrgyz and its mythical explanation.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, European writers used the early Romanized form Kirghiz – from the contemporary Russian киргизы – to refer not only to the modern Kyrgyz, but also to their more numerous northern relatives, the Kazakhs. When distinction had to be made, more specific terms were used: the Kyrgyz proper were known as the Kara-Kirghiz ("Black Kirghiz", from the colour of their tents), and the Kazakhs were named the Kaisaks. or "Kirghiz-Kazaks".
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Wikipedia