Note 123 — Chapter V · THE AUTONOMOUS CENTER IN POLAND DURING ITS DECLINE (1648-1772)

[The word "Cossack," in Russian, Kazak (with the accent on the last syllable), is derived from the Tataric. "Cossackdom"—says Kostomarov, in his Russian standard work on the Cossack uprising (Bogdan Khmelnitzki, i. p. 5)—"is undoubtedly of Tataric origin, and so is the very name Kozak, which in Tataric means 'vagrant,' 'free warrior,' 'rider.'" Peter Kropotkin (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, vii. 218) similarly derives the word from Turki Kuzzãk, "adventurer," "freebooter."]