Russian Language Exported: MAMMOTH
This word was born in the Siberian permafrost, where the bones of giants waited for centuries to speak the world’s languages.
The mammoth is an extinct Ice Age animal whose remains are still found in the Siberian permafrost. Russian pioneers learned about it from local peoples: The Mansi call it ‘mang ont’ (‘earth horn’), while the Yakuts called it ‘mamont’ (‘earth-digger’). Through the Russian language, the word entered the world (English: ‘mammoth’, German: ‘Mammut’, French: ‘mammouth’, etc.), becoming a symbol of something huge and ancient.