Austria
/ˈɔːs.tri.ə/noun
A country in Central Europe.
Did you know?Austria’s name comes from a medieval German term meaning “eastern,” not from Latin for “south” or any occult symbol—just a borderland labeled by direction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*austraz
“east, toward the sunrise”
Old High German
OHG
ōstar
“east”
10th Century
Medieval Latin
Ostarrîchi
“the eastern realm or eastern country”
12th Century
Latin
Austria
“Latinized form of the place name for the eastern duchy”
Modern English
English
Austria
“the modern country in Central Europe”