Where does “Adrianople” come from?
Adrianople derives from Ancient Greek Ἁδριανούπολις, combining the personal name Hadrian with πόλις, which traces through Proto-Hellenic ptólis and Proto-Indo-European tpólHis back to the root tpelH-.
Ancestry of “Adrianople”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | Adrianopolis | Adrianople, Edirne |
| 2 | Latin | Hadrianopolis | Edirne or Adrianople, a town of central Thrace at the confluence of the Tonsus and Hebrus rivers |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Ἁδριανούπολις | Adrianople, Edirne |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | πόλις | city; a whole country, as dependent on and called... |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | ptólis | city |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | tpólHis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | tpelH- | fortification, city |