Saka

See also: saka, Sáka, sāka, šaka, şaka, säkä, and šaką

English

Alternative forms

• Saca (dated)

Etymology 1

First attested in the late 19th century as a learned borrowing from Sanskrit शक (śaka), from Old Persian 𐎿𐎣𐎠 (s-k-a /⁠Sakā⁠/, “Scythian”), from 𐎿𐎣 (s-k /⁠Saka⁠/, “Scythia”), from Proto-Scythian *Skuδa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (“to propel, shoot”). Mostly displaced earlier Saca, ultimately from the same source via Latin. Doublet of Saca, Shaka, and Scyth.

Noun

Saka (plural Saka or Sakas)

1. A member of any of various peoples formerly inhabiting steppes north of the Iranian plateau.

Proper noun

Saka

1. The Iranian language of the Saka people.

Translations

language

• Armenian: սակերեն (hy) (sakeren)
• Finnish: saka
• Hindi: शक (hi) f (śak), शाक (hi) f (śāk), शाका (hi) f (śākā)
• Kazakh: сақ тілі (saq tılı), сақа тілі (saqa tılı)
• Persian: ساکا (sâkâ)
• Russian: сакский (ru) (sakskij)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese 坂(さか) (Saka); sometimes used as a topographic surname for someone who lived on a slope.

Proper noun

Saka

1. A town in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
2. A surname.

Translations

town in Japan

• Chinese: 坂町 (bǎndīng)
• Japanese: 坂町 (Saka-chō)
• Marathi: साका n (sākā)

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Estonian Saka.

Proper noun

Saka

1. A village in Ida-Viru County, Estonia.

Translations

village in Estonia

• Estonian: Saka
• German: Sackhof n

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Latvian Saka.

Proper noun

Saka

1. A village in Courland, Latvia.

Translations

village in Latvia

• German: Sackenhausen (pre-1918)
• Latvian: Saka

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Moroccan Arabic صاكة (ṣāka).

Proper noun

Saka

1. A commune of Oriental, Morocco.

Translations

commune in Morocco

• Arabic: صاكة (ṣāka)

Etymology 6

Borrowed from Turkish Saka, an occupational surname for a water-carrier, from saka (“water-carrier”).

Proper noun

Saka (plural Sakas)

1. A surname.

Etymology 7

Borrowed from Yoruba Saka.

Proper noun

Saka (plural Sakas)

1. A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Saka is the 40976^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 532 individuals. Saka is most common among White (46.62%), Black/African American (31.02%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (17.67%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Saka”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Indonesian

Etymology

From Javanese ꦱꦏ (saka), from Sanskrit शक (śaka), शाक (śāka).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saka/
• Hyphenation: Sa‧ka

Noun

Saka (first-person possessive Sakaku, second-person possessive Sakamu, third-person possessive Sakanya)

1. Javanese calendar, Balinese calendar.

Further reading

• “Saka” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Turkish

Proper noun

Saka

1. a male given name