indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Meaning & History
Used as a title in both Cossacks and Turks."Ataman" derives from Gothic "father of men-warriors", or Turkic Ata-man, "father of horsemen". Cossacks kept in their speech the original meaning of the word, sometimes saying "father-ataman" ("bat'ka-ataman"). At war atamans had unlimited power, but in times of peace they were only to carry out decisions of the Cossack Circle and keep order in the community.