Slav etymology

Etymology

The word "Slav" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word Slavěninъ, meaning "people, kin". The name is thought to have originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱlew-, meaning "fame, glory", or *ḱleu-, meaning "hear, listen".

Meaning

The word "Slav" refers to a group of Indo-European peoples who speak Slavic languages and share a common cultural heritage. Slavic peoples are native to Eastern, Central, and Southeastern Europe.

Origin

The origins of the Slavs are not fully known, but archaeological evidence suggests that they emerged from the Proto-Slavic culture, which existed in the territory between the Oder and Vistula rivers in modern-day Poland during the 1st millennium BCE.

Distribution

Today, Slavic peoples are found in the following countries:

• Eastern Europe: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
• Central Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria
• Southeastern Europe: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia

Subgroups

The Slavic peoples are divided into three main subgroups:

• East Slavs: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians
• West Slavs: Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatians
• South Slavs: Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Slovenes

Languages

The Slavic languages form a branch of the Indo-European language family. There are three main groups of Slavic languages:

• East Slavic: Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian
• West Slavic: Polish, Czech, Slovak, Lusatian
• South Slavic: Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Slovene

Slav relate terms

• Mstislav

  Etymology The name Mstislav is of Slavic origin Components Mst This stem means r

• Slav

  Etymology The word Slav is derived from the Proto Slavic word Slavěninъ meaning peo

• slate

  Etymology The word slate comes from the Old Norse word slátr which means flat sto

• slat

  Etymology The word slat is derived from the Old English word slæt which means a s

• Croat

  Etymology The ethnonym Croat is derived from the Proto Slavic word Xъrvati which i

• actor

  Etymology The word actor is derived from the Latin actor nom actoris which mean

• mortal

  Etymology Latin mortalis meaning subject to death Proto Indo European mrtós mea

• cassock

  Etymology The word cassock originates from the Old French word casoque 12th century

• person

  Etymology Latin persona meaning mask or character in a play Meaning An indiv

• soul

  Etymology The word soul traces its origins to the Proto Indo European root h₂enh₂

• individual

  Etymology from Latin individuum an individual thing or being from in not

• somebody

  Etymology Some indefinite pronoun Middle English sum or som from Old English

• metaphysics

  Etymology The word metaphysics comes from the Greek words meta after and physikos