Re: Zupanija and Slavic-Aryan connections

From: tolgs001
Message: 62121
Date: 2008-12-17

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