On the etymology of the word mangyus in the Mongolic languages

The article attempts to identify the inner form of the word mangyus, which designates a main negative character of the Mongolian peoples’ folklore, which is presented as a multi-headed anthropomorphic creature, who is contrasted with positive epic heroes. We have used materials from lexicographic and folklore sources, and data from Turkic languages for com-parison. Based on an analysis of the semantics of words with the root *mang (and its variants *mangq, *mant, *mand), we have established that this root served to implement the charac-teristics ‘rounded’ → ‘big-headed’ → ‘many-headed’. These signs are fully applicable to the appearance of the folklore characters. We suggest that figurative vocabulary is the key to identifying the motive for the nomination of the basic vocabulary of the Altai languages. Iden-tification of the common to the Mongolic and Turkic languages motif of the nomination ‘big-headed’ reflects the peculiarities of the national and cultural worldview of related peoples.