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Name of Lithuania
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The name of Lithuania was first recorded in written sources in 1009 in chronicles of Quedlinburg . The Quedlinburg Chronicle recorded a Latinized Slavic form of the name Lietuva - Litua pronounced [litva]. While it is clear the name originated in a Baltic language, scholars still debate the meaning of the word.
Historic usage of the name
During the 11th century the Land of Lithuania was bordered by Slavic lands.
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The name of Lithuania was first recorded in written sources in 1009 in chronicles of Quedlinburg . The Quedlinburg Chronicle recorded a Latinized Slavic form of the name Lietuva - Litua pronounced [litva]. While it is clear the name originated in a Baltic language, scholars still debate the meaning of the word.
Historic usage of the name
During the 11th century the Land of Lithuania was bordered by Slavic lands. Since the Slavs interacted with Lithuanians much earlier than Western countries did, it is understandable that the Quedlinburg Chronicle used a Slavic form of its name. Slavs did not create the name; they used the existing Lithuanian ethnonym. The Lithuanian diphthong -ie- has, in Slavic languages, shifted to the vowel -i-, hence Litva. This is evidence that the Slavs borrowed this ethnonym from Lithuanians a long time ago.
During the next century, Lithuania's name was recorded in other languages, including German and Polish. In early German chronicles Lithuania's name was spelled as Lettowen. In this form the German letter -e- is used to denote the Lithuanian diphthong -ie-, while -owen denotes the Lithuanian hydronymic suffix -uva (-ava). The traditional Lithuanian root -liet- is encountered in various German usages of the era, such as Lettowen, and in Latin as Lethovia, Lettovia, Lettavia, etc.
In Rus' chronicles Lithuania's name was written as ??????, alongside a shortened version, ????? (Litva), where -i- was already used instead of the diphthong -ie. All of these names clearly originated from *Letuva > Lietuva, forms used by Lithuanians to identify their lands. The current form of the name Lietuva is thought to be used by Lithuanians since the 12th or 13th century. Despite ample historic and linguistic evidence with regard to the name's usage in different languages, there is a certain degree of debate about the etymology of the name.
Etymology of the name
There have been several attempts to associate Lietuva with Celtic toponyms, and with Latin or Italian words. But these attempts all lack strong linguistic support. According to a widespread popular belief, the word Lietuva (Lithuania) originated from a Lithuanian word lyti (to rain). However, there is no serious scientific support for this theory. Since the word Lietuva has a suffix (-uva), the original word should have no suffix. A likely candidate is Lieta. Because many Baltic ethnonyms originated from hydronyms, linguists have searched for its origin among local hydronyms. Usually such names evolved through the following process: hydronym ? toponym ? ethnonym.
A small river not far from Kernave, the core area of the early Lithuanian state and a possible first capital of the would-be Grand Duchy of Lithuania, is usually credited as the source of the name. This river's original name is Lietava. As time passed, the suffix -ava could have changed into -uva, as the two are from the same suffix branch. The river flows in the lowlands and easily spills over its banks, therefore the traditional Lithuanian form liet- could be directly translated as lietis (to spill), of the root derived from the Proto-Indo-European *ley?-. However, the river is very small and some find it improbable that such a small and local object could have lent its name to an entire nation. On the other hand, such a fact is not unprecedented in world history.
While the word's etymology continues to be debated, scientists agree that the primary origins of the ethnonym were the Lithuanian forms *Letuva/Lietuva, which were then used by different languages, including Slavic. It is linguistically impossible for the name to have derived from a Slavic language, since the Slavic -i- could never be transliterated into the Lithuanian diphthong -ie-.
See also
Further reading
- Zigmas Zinkevicius. Lietuviu tautos kilme. Vilnius, 2005.
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