Where does “Latvia” come from?
Latvia is the English name for the country, derived from Latvian Latvija, formed from Latvian latvis with the Latin suffix -ia, which comes from Ancient Greek -ία, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -h₂.
Ancestry of “Latvia”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latvian | Latvija | Latvia |
| 2 | Latvian | latvis | a Latvian, a Lett; a member of the Latvian... |
| 3 | Latvian | latuvis | — |
| 4 | Latvian | Latuva | — |
Words derived from “Latvia”