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Originally Posted by Austrvegr
Because Russian knyaz' < Proto-Germanic kuningaz > English king, German Koenig, etc. Before the 16th century, Russians called Western sovereigns knyazya, and Westerners called Russian sovereigns Koenige, reges, etc. The loaning of the West Slavonic word korol' by Russians in the 16th century resulted in a mess, which it's now time to clean up.
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Well done Austrvegr! I often translate from Russian, and I feel terribly disrespectful when I refer to these old dead heroic Knyazes as 'dukes'. It's convention, but these can be changed. I mean, for God's sake, victorious generals in England were often made into dukes, and we're talking about full-blooded Ryurikoviches! I would even go so far as to say I
hate writing 'Grand Duke'!