Huvarazmians

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. The peoples who lived in or came from Khwarazm, an ancient region south of the Aral Sea in Central Asia
2. Inhabitants of the historical Central Asian realm of Khwarazm, centered on the lower Amu Darya river valley
3. Natives of Khwarazm, the medieval Iranian-speaking region and empire around the Oxus River delta in Central Asia

Etymology: Huvarazmians is a variant spelling of Khwarazmians, the people of Khwarazm, an oasis region south of the Aral Sea in Central Asia. The name is ancient. Old Persian records a form "Hwārazmiya," and Greek writers rendered it as "Chorasmioi," which is where the Latin and English form "Chorasmian" comes from. The exact meaning of the name is uncertain, and popular glosses such as "land of the sun" lack firm support. The region's most famous English-speaking connection is a mathematician. Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who worked in Baghdad in the early 9th century, took his name from his homeland. His Arabic treatise was translated into Latin in the 12th century, where his name became "Algoritmi," and that Latin form gave English "algorithm." Centuries later, the Khwarazmian dynasty ruled a large empire across Central Asia and Iran until the Mongol invasions of the 1220s destroyed it.