origin of the name "Lithuania"
EZ
Lithuania - it is a general Baltic term that can be related to a
governing unit - related to Greek "leiton". Has Latvian "leiši" have a
broader meaning?
What do our linguists say?
Best regards,
EZ
"Kas gi yra lietuvis, ką reiškia žodis „Lietuva“? Tūkstantmečio
minėjimas suintensyvino paieškas, susidomėjimo savo žila praeitimi
banga davė rezultatų – tiesa, ne akademinėje aplinkoje, o vadovėliuose
ypač daug įšalo. Tačiau dabar jau niekas neabejoja, kad Lietuva – tai
ne iš menko Lietaukos upelio kilęs pavadinimas, o neįprastai ir
nelauktai imlus terminas, sietinas su tokiais senžodžiais kaip
„lieta“, „leičiai“, atsispindintis net ir platesniame, indoeuropiniame
kontekste (plg. graikų leiton – valdžia, valstybė ir t. t.). Tai
leidžia teigti, kad „lietuvis“ yra ne genties pavadinimas (tokios
genties niekada nebuvo), o viršgentinio junginio, virtusio
protovalstybiniu dariniu, o Mindaugo laikais – ir valstybe, pilietis.
Žodis „Lietuva“ yra žodžio „valstybė“ sinonimas, reiškiantis pačią
valstybę, kurios piliečiai pradėjo save vadinti lietuviais."
On Jul 4, 7:24 pm, EZ <zvi...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> One version was that it comes from the river "Lietava" which is not even a proper
> river, more of a creek - to me it never made any sense.
Well, as you said, you're not a linguist. To a linguist it makes
perfect sense, because there are many other examples of a very small,
specific point on the map becoming the name of an entire country,
province, or even continent (look up the etymology of "Africa").
Name of Lithuania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The name of Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) was first recorded in
written sources in 1009 in chronicles of Quedlinburg (Latin: Annales
Quedlinburgenses). The Quedlinburg Chronicle recorded a Latinized
Slavic form of the name Lietuva - Litua [1] pronounced [litvā]. 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- (и),
hence Litva. This is evidence that the Slavs borrowed this ethnonym
from Lithuanians a long time ago.[2]
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.[3] In this form the German
letter -e- is used to denote the Lithuanian diphthong -ie-, while -
owen denotes the Lithuanian hydronymic suffix -uva (-ava).[3] 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 Литъва, alongside a
shortened version, Литва (Litva), where -i- (и) was already used
instead of the diphthong -ie. All of these names clearly originated
from *Lētuvā > Lietuva, forms used by Lithuanians to identify their
lands.[2] The current form of the name Lietuva is thought to be used
by Lithuanians since the 12th or 13th century.[4] 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
Commemorative coin dedicated to the millennium of Lithuania's 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).[5][6] 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 Lietā. 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.[7]
A small river not far from Kernavė, 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.[7] 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 *leyǝ-.[8] 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.[2]
While the word's etymology continues to be debated, scientists agree
that the primary origins of the ethnonym were the Lithuanian forms
*Lētuvā/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- (и) could never
be transliterated into the Lithuanian diphthong -ie-.[2]
Among other etymologies of a name of Lithuania there is S.
Karaliūnas', A. Dubonis',[9] hypothesis, that Lietuva relates to a
word *leičiai.
1. ^ Vilnius. Key dates. Retrieved in 2007-01-18.
2. ^ a b c d (Lithuanian) Zinkevičius, Zigmas (1999-11-30).
"Lietuvos vardo kilmė". Voruta 3 (669). ISSN 1392-0677.
http://www.voruta.lt/article.php?article=259.
3. ^ a b (Lithuanian) Zinkevičius, Zigmas (2007). Senosios Lietuvos
valstybės vardynas. Vilnius: Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing
Institute. p. 26. ISBN 5420016060.
4. ^ On the Name of Lithuania, Zigmas Zinkevičius
5. ^ Lithuania - General Information ERASMUS programme Conference
2007."The name of Lithuania (Lietuva in Lithuanian) comes from the
word "lietus" (rain)."
6. ^ The Origin of the Name of Lithuania. Zigmas Zinkevicius,
Delfi.lt, 1999. "After the ineffectual efforts to find the name of
Lithuania in foreign countries, it was finally associated to the
Lithuanian word lietus ‘rain’, as though Lithuania were an extremely
rainy land."
7. ^ a b Zigmas Zinkevičius. Kelios mintys, kurios kyla skaitant
Alfredo Bumblausko Senosios Lietuvos istoriją 1009-–1795m. Voruta,
2005.
8. ^ Indo-European Etymology
9. ^ (Lithuanian) Dubonis, Artūras (1998), Lietuvos didžiojo
kunigaikščio leičiai: iš Lietuvos ankstyvųjų valstybinių struktūrų
praeities (Leičiai of grand duke of Lithuania: from the past of
Lithuanian stative structures, Vilnius: Lietuvos istorijos instituto
leidykla
Tadas Blinda
is nonsense.
> Tačiau dabar jau niekas neabejoja, kad Lietuva – tai
>ne iš menko Lietaukos upelio kilęs pavadinimas,
Says who? What's his authority to say that? He provides no
references or quotes. The Wikipedia article correctly explains the
etymology. Names of whole countries and even continents originating
from one very specific geographical name is nothing new, there are
thosands of examples.
>o neįprastai ir nelauktai imlus terminas, sietinas su tokiais senžodžiais kaip
>„lieta“, „leičiai“, atsispindintis net ir platesniame, indoeuropiniame
>kontekste (plg. graikų leiton – valdžia, valstybė ir t. t.).
Where the hell did he get this imaginary Greek "leiton"? There is no
such word! I keep reminding SCB readers that Etymology is just as
strict a science as any other. There are rules, which means the same
as in other sciences, namely that it has been established through
empirical observation that there are certain principles at work behind
the origin of words, and any claims made about the origin of a word
have to be consistent with established principles. Proof is
required. Speculation is worthless.
>Tai leidžia teigti, kad „lietuvis“ yra ne genties pavadinimas (tokios
>genties niekada nebuvo),
Codswallop! Of course if you go back far enough there were no tribes
at all, only groups of hominids wandering about together to help each
other hunt, etc. Inventing names for themselves came later, primarily
when they came into contact with other tribes and realised that not
everybody was the same as them (e.g. did not speak the same language).
> o viršgentinio junginio, virtusio protovalstybiniu dariniu, o Mindaugo laikais – ir valstybe,
> pilietis. Žodis „Lietuva“ yra žodžio „valstybė“ sinonimas, reiškiantis pačią valstybę, kurios >piliečiai pradėjo save vadinti lietuviais."
Once again, not a word of proof, no references or quotes. He is just
making it up as he goes along.
I don't know what such people's motivation is. Why are they reluctant
to accept the correct (Lietava) explanation? Not sexy enough for
them? Or do they just want to drive in the opposite direction as
everyone else, to show off and be different? Reminds me of an article
I read in Delfi recently. One idiot boiled and ate a musmirę. Why?
Well, he just thought that the 'story' about them being poisonous was
'paistalai', and he was going to prove everyone wrong. The ending of
this episode will come as no surprise. He died.
On Mar 1, 9:41 am, EZ <zvi...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Here is one more version that tries to find the origin of name of
> Lithuania - it is a general Baltic term that can be related to a
> governing unit - related to Greek "leiton". Has Latvian "leiši" have a
> broader meaning?
>
> What do our linguists say?
>
> Best regards,
> EZ
>
> http://www.lrytas.lt/-12987406341297652133-kaip-radosi-%C5%BEemaitija...
> "Lietuvos vardo kilmė". Voruta 3 (669). ISSN 1392-0677.http://www.voruta.lt/article.php?article=259.
EZ
> Sorry Evaldai, the part of that Lietuvos rytas article that you quoted
> is nonsense.
>
Here is some more - a warrior cast - leičiai. The Slavic forms are
especially interesting since the transition to current forms are very
easy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei%C4%8Diai
Best regards,
EZ
EZ
Just to keep the fire going, could leičiai be related the German
Litten or Lette?
http://viduramziu.istorija.net/socium/leiciai-en.htm
What do the Letts say?
EZ