The origin of the term “Tajik”

According to John Payne written in “The nationalities question in the post-Soviet states” the name Tajik, which is currently used for Persian-speaking population of Central Asia is based on an Arabic tribal name, “Taiy”. This name was widely used by other people to describe the Arabs; for example, the Arabs were known by this name to the Chinese as early as the first century AD. In the Sogdians form Tazik”. It was used as a name for the Arab invaders of Central Asia, and then by extension applied at the end of the tenth or the beginning of the eleventh century to the Islamicised Persian-speaking population.

Note: In Persian language, the word Tazi means foreigner but after the Arab invasion of 7^th century AD, it mostly referred to the Arabs. But in eleventh century AD those Persian-speaking of the Central Asia that did not accept Islam started calling those Iranians that accepted Islam “Tazi-ak” to belittle them. The suffix “ak”, in Persian language, makes any word small or little. Consequently the word “Tazi-ak” means “The little Arab.