Tash, in the Turkic language, means "stone," while kand, qand, kent, kad, kath, and kud are derived from the Sogdian word kanda, which means "town" or "city." In medieval times, the town and the province were known as "Chach." Later, the town came to be known as Chachkand/Chashkand, meaning "Chach City." After the sixteenth century, the name was changed to Tashkand, which, as "stone city," was more meaningful. The modern spelling of Tashkent reflects Russian orthography.