Where does “Bélgija” come from?
Bélgija (Serbo-Croatian) comes from Latin Belgium, from Latin Belgica, from Latin belgicus, from Latin Belgae, from Proto-Celtic bolg-, from Proto-Indo-European bʰelgʰ- — to bulge, swell.
Ancestry of “Bélgija”, step by step
Bélgija traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin Belgium
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | Belgium | — |
| 2 | Latin | Belgica | — |
| 3 | Latin | belgicus | Belgic |
| 4 | Latin | Belgae | the Belgians; Belgians |
| 5 | Proto-Celtic | bolg- | to swell |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰelgʰ- | to bulge, swell |
via Lithuanian belgas
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lithuanian | belgas | Belgian |