Etymology
The term "Khalkha" (or Халх) has always puzzled linguists and historians. One possible interpretation is that it share the same root with the words "Халхавч" or "Shield" and "Халхлах" or to protect; to cover; to shield; to hide; to intercept; etc., although there is no noun, nor verb "Халх" that independently exists besides the ethnic group's name. In the similar manner, the sub ethnic groups within the Khalkha Unit have been historically recorded in books, journals, and documents as: "Jalair Khalkha", "Sartuul Khalkha", "Tanghhut Khalkha", and etc. Even the word order in the phrases Southern Five Khalkha and Northern Thirteen Khalkha implies that the word "Халх" correlates to the units within the Southern and Northern tribal federations, but it does not stand for the entire group as a whole. Lastly, Mongolians have always linked the term "Халх" to the name of Khalkha River.
Read more about this topic: Khalka Mongols
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
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“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)