PECHENEG TOPONYMS

This aborigenous Ukrainian nation is quite thoroughly told about by Constantine Porphyrogennetos (905-959). A lot of interesting conclusions could have been made, but for the famous turkologist Baskakov with Turkic interpretations. As you should remember, one of Pecheneg clans was called 'kankali', which is 'to roam' in Georgian. The Pechenegs roamed in particular over the right-bank of the Dnistro river, exactly where the tribe of Tivertsi used to live (or, more exactly, 'The Ivertsi'). Porphyrogennetos places a whole group of Pecheneg forts there with presumably Pecheneg names.

This is exaсtly where Baskakov jumps in with his Turkic interpretation of the names, insisting that all the forts bear the Turkic word 'katay' meaning 'fortress' in each name: Tungaty - Tun-Katay ('peaceful fort), Kraknakaty - Karak-Katay (guard fort), Salmakaty - Salma-Katay (patrol fort), Sakakaty - Saka-Katay (pile fort), Gieukaty - Yayu-Katay (military fort). 

Everyone referes to Baskakov's book 'Turkic Languages', which I was not able to find. Instead I got Baskakov's 'Turkish-Russian Dictionary' (1977). And found there no 'katay' word, just 'kat' meaning 'to make firmer'. There is no 'katay' either in 'Turkman-Russian Dictionary' that Baskakov compiled ten years earlier. I didn't found that 'katay' word anywhere. Actually, Baskakov says, it's a Turkic borrowing from the Persian. But Iranians neither have it. Not here; https://glosbe.com/en/fa/fort, nor in the Persian-Russian Dictionary of Rubinchik. Nor in the Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages. 

So, we have a right to assume that Baskakov extrapolated 'katay' in the meaning of 'fort', when he saw 'kat' in the meaning of 'to make firmer'. If so, nothing prevents us from looking at the names of Pecheneg forts from Kartvelian point of view. What will we see? We'll see no 'katay', but the typical Megrelian toponymic suffix '-ati':

Tungaty - თუნგათი (Tungati).  თუნგი (tungi) is a 'wine flask'. Thus, Tungati is 'land of wine flasks' or, simpler, 'land of wine'. Kraknakaty - კრაკნაკათი (Kraknakati). We already saw the Georgian word 'krko' (acorn), which coincides with Old Slav 'krak' meaning 'oak'. If 'kraki' used to be 'oak' in Kartvelian, then 'krakni' would be 'oaks'. While -ak is s well-known Scythian adjective suffix. If so, then 'kraknak' is a Georgian-Scythian mix meaning 'oaky'. While Kraknakati would be 'land of the oaky (forests)'. Salmakaty - სალმაკათი (Salmakati). Here we have almak as the root. With the ak-ag alternation taken into account it may be the Georgian word  ალმაგი (almagi) - chain armour. Salmakati then is ´land of chain armour´. Sakakaty - საკაკათი (Sakakati). A lot of possible interpretations. The simplest is 'land of akaki', where akaki (აკაკი) is celtis (Celtis caucasica), a hemp-like plant with edible fruit. Or it may be land of sakaki, where sakak(i) is a Scythian adjective made of saki-root. That's the name of one of the most important Scythian tribes. Only Gieukaty has no suggestions.