Lietuva
/lʲɪɛˈtʊːvɐ/noun
The Lithuanian name for Lithuania.
Did you know?The earliest known written reference to Lietuva dates to 1009, when the Annals of Quedlinburg recorded the form “Litua” in connection with the death of missionary Bruno of Querfurt.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European (proposed)
PIE
*leyǝ- / *lei-
“A proposed root associated with pouring or flowing; this connection to Lietuva remains debated.”
Prehistoric Baltic
Baltic
*Lietuvā
“A reconstructed or hypothesized ancestral form, possibly first used as a river or landscape name.”
10th Century
Latin record
Litua
“The earliest known written form, found in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009.”
Middle Ages
Old Lithuanian
Lietuva
“The developing Lithuanian name for the land and its political community.”
Modern Lithuanian
Lithuanian
Lietuva
“The contemporary endonym for Lithuania.”