Tambov ergonyms dating back to the word “wolf”

Abstract

We are making an attempt to establish the producing base of Tambov ergonyms, including the phrase “Tambov wolf”. We establish that the ergonym nomination is based on the katoikonym “Tambov wolves”. The coexistence of these onomastic facts in a single toponymic space indicates the presence of regional features as unifying territorial features, including with the help of linguistic means (for example, an unofficial onomastic nomination in the self-determination of residents of the village of Otyasy, Sosnovsky District, Tambov Region: “We are Tambov Salamatniks”). We prove that such stable phrases as “Tambov wolf” and “Tambov Salamatniks” are by their origin connected with folk colloquial speech, reflecting such a concept as “dialectal onomastics”.