New perspectives in Karaim etymology? The origin of Lutsk Karaim k'emec

Krakow: Jagiellonian University Press, in Studia Etymologica Cracovensia, 2013. Vol 18, p. 95-103.ISBN 978-83-233-3552-8According to KRPS, kemec ‘1) soldier; 2) Russian (person)’ is native Lutsk Karaim. Since the word lacks any cognates on Turkic ground, in the present paper an attempt is made to link the word to Germ. Kamasche 'gaiters’ and to explain its phonetic shape as being a consequence of the influence of the language of Polish Jews. Keywords: etymology, Lutsk Karaim, Eastern Yiddish, Polish, Russian, soldier, gaiters, borrowing.