Abkhaz

noun Ab·khaz \ ab-ˈkäs \

variants: or Abkhazian play \ab-ˈkā-zh(ē-)ən, -ˈkä-zē-ən\ or less commonly Abkhas play \ab-ˈkäs\ or Abkhasian play \ab-ˈkā-zh(ē-)ən, -ˈkä-zē-ən\

Definition of Abkhaz

plural Abkhaz or Abkhazes or Abkhazians also Abkhas or Abkhasians

1 a : a people living on the eastern shore of the Black Sea

b : a member of this people

2 : the North Caucasian language of the Abkhaz people

There's more!

Love words? You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
Advanced search features
Ad free!

Origin and Etymology of abkhaz

Abkhaz borrowed from Russian abkhaz, abkhazets, borrowed from Georgian abkhaz or Arabic & Persian & Ottoman Turkish abkhāz, all borrowed from an uncertain Caucasian source, whence also Late Greek Abaskoí, Abasgoí, Late Latin Abasgī; Abkhazian from Abkhazia, the Abkhaz homeland (ultimately borrowed from Late Greek Abasgía) +¹-an

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1686

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year