Catch-all term for Uzbeks and Central Asians generally. Юлдаш — meaning “comrade, companion” in Uzbek and several Turkic languages — is actually a common first name in the region; it has taken the usual path from typical first name to ethnic nickname. See ялдаш.
Русский — узбек поругается, пять минут прошло, говорит: «Юлдаш, закуривай», — уже все забыл!
A Russian and an Uzbek have a fight, five minutes pass, and he says: “Yuldash, light up” — everything’s already forgotten!
(К.М. Симонов, Так называемая личная жизнь, 1979)
