Mayak
Nicholas Zharkikh
Shortened text of the section.
Full text in ukrainian version.
The next object on the list of "Vytautas’ Black Sea possessions" is the Mayak (Lighthouse), recorded in two versions of the document.
Since it is a little-known name, we must consider all possible options and only then choose the best one.
Etymology
Origin of the word mayak remains unclear, but given the range of geographical names, it can be assumed that it originated in steppe Ukraine.
Geographical names Mayak, Mayaky (plural), Mayachka
Mayaky on the lower Dniester
Description by Evliya Çelebi (1650s)
Description of F. de Wollant (1792)
This is what the beginnings of the modern village of Mayaky look like (based on those sources that lie on the surface, without delving into the subject).
Archaeological data
Conclusions
1. The Word mayak – of unclear origin, first recorded on the territory of modern Ukraine in 1431. Its original meaning – a landmark, a sign – has been preserved to this day in construction terminology mayak "a mark on the wall of a building."
2. All 4 geographical names with the base Mayak, known until the end of the 17th century, are located in the steppe zone of Ukraine, three of them on the banks of large rivers.
3. From the mid-17th century, the word spread further east, into the steppe zone of the European part of Russia, and a new meaning was recorded – a structure for fire alarms.
4. From the end of the 18th century the word acquires its modern meaning – a tower for light signaling at sea.
5. From all the collected material, it can be assumed that the toponym Mayak on the lower Dniester could indicate a landmark visible from afar (perhaps the remains of some ancient tower of the Nadlymanske settlement) and was a sign for those traveling from the east that crossing the Dniester could be done to the right, to the north (the estuary began to the left).
6. The name Mayak on the lower Dniester has been known since the mid-16th century, and it can be assumed that the mentions of this name in 1431-1432 also refer to this territory.
7. It is indisputable that there was no city, castle, or settlement here at that time and for a long time afterwards (until the end of the 18th century), but only a tract / crossing.
8. The modern village of Mayaky, Biljaivka (Odesa) district, Odesa region, arose between 1792 and 1799.