Old Great Bulgaria - Etymology of Onoghuria

Etymology of Onoghuria

See also: Onogurs

Variations of the name include:

Onoghuria, Onoguri, Onoghuri, Onghur, Ongur, Onghuri, Onguri, Onghuria, Onguria, Onogundur, Unogundur, Unokundur, etc.

There are numerous speculations about the origin of the Onogur name:

  • In modern language of the Caucasian Avars Onoghuria could mean "Everlasting", from uno - ever and guro - lasting.
  • Some derive it from the Turkic words On (ten) and Ghur (arrow) which in combination may mean "Ten Arrows", i.e. the Western Turkic Kaghanate which was a federation of ten tribes.
  • Another explanation states that because in Turkic languages the sound "z" turns to "r" when you go westwards and therefore the ethnonym of the Oguz/Oghuz Turks would sound as Ogur/Oghur in the west. Then Onogur would mean "ten clans of Oguz/Oghuz (Turks)". In support to this view is fact that the Bulgars are listed among the ten sons of Togarmah (the mythic ancestor of the Turks) in the Khazar Correspondence.
  • Others relate Onoghur to Unok-vndur, a Bulgar people mentioned in the early Armenian sources.

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