CAUCASIA / CAUCASUS

- named for the eponymous 🔍 mountain range between the Black & Caspian* seas 🔍 

that separate Europe from the Middle East (the border between Europe &Asia.)

    Latin Caucasus, from Greek kaukasis, from Scythian kroy-khasis (or sim) = [the mountain]

     "ice-shining, white with snow" (possibly Pelasgian root kau = mountain.)**

Source of caucasian = people from the caucasus/ Caucasia or, after 1795, the "white" race

[Coined by German anthropologist Blumenbach in his anthropology treatise distinguishing races

(based on skulls similarities.) It included nearly all Europeans (except Lapps & Finns), Armenians,

Persians, Hindus, Arabs & Jews.)

  * Latin Caspius, from Greek Kaspios, after the native people, Latin the Caspii, that lived on its shores (who may have

originally been from Caucasus'); a self-designation, possibly = white; making the two seas the Black + White seas

**According to Pliny; Natural History; making caucasus mean virtual the same thing as Alps🔍