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I am trying to find the etymology of the name Bratislav but can't find it anywhere. can anyone help?
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Bratislav and "Slav" in general
According to one site (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/bl.html), Bratislav is a variation of teh Russian Briachislav, meaning "buzz-glory." Presumably "Briach" means "buzz" (onomatopoeia?) and "-slav" means "glory" (as noted by Mike http://www.behindthename.com/elements.html).
I was shocked to realize that Slav is ultimately derived from the Greek "sklavos" meaning slave (Oxford English Dictionary). It would be interesting to see how "slav," which originally meant something so horrible, eventually came to mean "glory".
PS. Bratislava is also the capital of Slovakia
According to one site (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/bl.html), Bratislav is a variation of teh Russian Briachislav, meaning "buzz-glory." Presumably "Briach" means "buzz" (onomatopoeia?) and "-slav" means "glory" (as noted by Mike http://www.behindthename.com/elements.html).
I was shocked to realize that Slav is ultimately derived from the Greek "sklavos" meaning slave (Oxford English Dictionary). It would be interesting to see how "slav," which originally meant something so horrible, eventually came to mean "glory".
PS. Bratislava is also the capital of Slovakia
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On the "slav" part
Correct me if I am wrong, but -
Slavic people called themselves "slavs" deriving it from that very "slav" = glory. Around the XIV century, however, Slavs living near the Black Sea were often taken as slaves by vikings. Eventually, the notions Slav (ethnic) and "a person owned by somebody else" became equivalent, so the latter was "named" slave. Sad as it is (because I am Slavic), the word "slave" comes from "slav", not vice versa.
Punto final: I always thought that Bratislava (the Slovk capital) is derived from "brat" - brother and "slav". Wouldn't swear upon it, though
Correct me if I am wrong, but -
Slavic people called themselves "slavs" deriving it from that very "slav" = glory. Around the XIV century, however, Slavs living near the Black Sea were often taken as slaves by vikings. Eventually, the notions Slav (ethnic) and "a person owned by somebody else" became equivalent, so the latter was "named" slave. Sad as it is (because I am Slavic), the word "slave" comes from "slav", not vice versa.
Punto final: I always thought that Bratislava (the Slovk capital) is derived from "brat" - brother and "slav". Wouldn't swear upon it, though
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I stand corrected!
http://www.bartleby.com/61/60/S0466000.html
http://www.bartleby.com/61/60/S0466000.html
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Oh, well, I always suspected my history teacher in ignorance
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Is Bratislav a common name? If so, in which countries is it most popular?
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