Etymology

Origin is uncertain. Possible theories include:

• The toponym derives from the name of a settlement in Guria called აჭი ‎(ač̣i), root of which is believed to be replicated in აჭარა ‎(ač̣ara).
• According to the more widespread hypothesis proposed by Pavle Ingorokva the root of აჭარა ‎(ač̣ara) goes back to the endonym ჭანი ‎(č̣ani), an ancient Kartvelian tribe ancestral to modern Mingrelians and Lazs. Ingorokva also reconstructs earlier *აჭანრა ‎(ač̣anra), a circumfixed form of the same root meaning "the place where Chans dwell".
• The more recent theory narrows down the root to *ჭ ‎(č̣), indicating correspondence to the Kartvelian *წყალ- ‎(“water”). This supposition is accepted by Bedoshvili, but he considers *ჭარ ‎(č̣ar) to be the root instead, arguing the fact that this root regularly corresponds to *წყალ- ‎(“water”) in many dialects of the Georgian language.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑtʃʼɑrɑ/
• Hyphenation: ა‧ჭა‧რა