gpiotr wrote:
>It may be a genuine Iranian
>loan, as *g(a)u-pa:na- 'cattle-guardian, cowherd' is a very
>plausible Iranian compound (attested e.g. in Pashto as
>Go:b@, G = "gh", cf. also Sanskrit go-pa:-). Perhaps the
>Slavs retained a memory of their powerful Scythian or
>Sarmatian neighbours as cattle breeders and cowboys.
Are then the assertions below correct?
(1) ''_Zhoopan_ - an official (Eastern Caucasian)''
(BTW, what kind of ''Eastern Caucasian''?)
(2) ''_Chupan_ (Sogdian)''
Source:
http://groznijat.tripod.com/b_lang/bl_oldwords.html
(re. Bulghar (proto-Bulgarian) inscriptions; where _z^upan_
is rendered as _ZOAPAN_ and _SOAPAN_, in Greek letters)
(3) ''The term it seems, is ultimately of Avar origin. (...)
Originally, since nomadic times, the _zupa_ started as an extended
family, where authority rested with a pater familias (...), called
zupan (...). In time, some evolved into larger clans, (...).''
(in: _®upa_, en.wikipedia)
George