Azerbaijan

Origin

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish آذربایجان (azerbaycan), from Classical Persian آذَرْبَایْجَان (āzarbāyjān), from Early New Persian آذَرْبَایْگَان (āḏarbāygān) / آذَرْبَادْگَان (āḏarbādgān), from Middle Persian [script needed] (ʾtwrpʾtkʾn) / [script needed] (ʾtwrpʾtkn /⁠āturpātakān, ādurbādagān⁠/), from [script needed] (ʾtwrpʾt' /⁠āturpāt, ādurbād⁠⁠/, “Atropates (the Persian nobleman who founded the kingdom of Atropatene)”) [whose name descends from Old Persian *Ātr̥pātah (literally “protected by fire”)] + -kʾn' (whence Classical Persian ـگَان (-gān)). Compare Old Armenian Ատրպատական (Atrpatakan), Ատրապատական (Atrapatakan), Ատրպայական (Atrpayakan), Armenian Ադրբեջան (Adrbeǰan), Byzantine Greek Ἀδαρβιγάνων (Adarbigánōn), Classical Syriac ܐܕܘܪܒܝܓܐܢ (ʾĀḏōrbêḡān), Coptic ⲁⲇⲟⲩⲣⲃⲁⲇⲁⲅⲁⲛ (adourbadagan).