Czech Republic Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Etymology==<!--linked--> {{Main|Name of the Czech Republic}} The traditional English name "Bohemia" derives from [[Latin]]: ''Boiohaemum'', which means "home of the [[Boii]]" (a [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribe). The current English name ultimately comes from the Czech word {{lang|cs|Čech}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Czech definition and meaning|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/czech|website=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins|Collins]]|access-date=19 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234347/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/czech|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="American Heritage Dictionary">{{cite web|title=Czech|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Czech|website=[[American Heritage Dictionary]]|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="OxfordDictionary">{{cite web|title=Czech – Definition in English|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/czech|website=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=11 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412000947/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/czech|archive-date=12 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The name comes from the Slavic tribe ({{lang-cs|Češi, Čechové}}) and, according to legend, their leader [[Lech, Czech, and Rus'|Čech]], who brought them to Bohemia, to settle on [[Říp Mountain]]. The etymology of the word {{lang|cs|Čech}} can be traced back to the [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]] root {{lang|sla-x-proto|*čel-}}, meaning "member of the people; kinsman", thus making it [[Cognate (linguistics)|cognate]] to the Czech word {{wikt-lang|cs|člověk}} (a person).<ref>{{cite web|last=Spal|first=Jaromír|title=Původ jména Čech|url=http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=4320|publisher=Naše řeč|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209232303/http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=4320|archive-date=9 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The country has been traditionally divided into three lands, namely [[Bohemia]] ({{lang|cs|Čechy}}) in the west, [[Moravia]] ({{lang|cs|Morava}}) in the east, and [[Czech Silesia]] ({{lang|cs|Slezsko}}; the smaller, south-eastern part of historical [[Silesia]], most of which is located within modern Poland) in the northeast.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/131842/Books_2010_2019_086-2014-1_9.pdf?sequence=1|title=Úvod do historické topografie českých zemí: Územní vývoj českých zemí|last1=Sviták|first1=Zbyněk|year=2014|work=1st edition|publisher=|location=Brno|pages=75–80, 82, 92–96|language=cs|url-status=live|access-date=23 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209153428/http://digilib.phil.muni.cz:80/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/131842/Books_2010_2019_086-2014-1_9.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=9 December 2017 }}</ref> Known as the ''lands of the Bohemian Crown'' since the 14th century, a number of other names for the country have been used, including ''Czech/Bohemian lands'', ''Bohemian Crown'', ''Czechia'', <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/letter/from-bohemia-to-czechia|title=From Bohemia to Czechia – Radio Prague|date=12 July 2016|access-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309102644/http://www.radio.cz/en/section/letter/from-bohemia-to-czechia|archive-date=9 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the ''lands of the Crown of [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Saint Wenceslaus]]''. When the country regained its independence after the dissolution of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian empire]] in 1918, the new name of ''Czechoslovakia'' was coined to reflect the union of the Czech and Slovak nations within one country.<ref name="Thompson2012">{{cite book|first=Wayne C.|last=Thompson|title=Nordic, Central and Southeastern Europe 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jHtTydugD4C&pg=PA345|year=2012|publisher=Stryker Post|isbn=978-1-61048-892-1|pages=345–}}</ref> After Czechoslovakia dissolved on the last day of 1992, {{lang|cs|Česko}} was adopted as the Czech short name for the new state and the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic]] recommended ''Czechia'' for the English-language equivalent.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Czechia – the civic initiative|url=http://www.czechia-initiative.com/aboutus.html|access-date=11 January 2022|website=www.czechia-initiative.com}}</ref> This form was not widely adopted at the time, leading to the long name ''Czech Republic'' being used in English in nearly all circumstances. The Czech government [[Name of the Czech Republic#Adoption of Czechia|directed use of ''Czechia'']] as the official English short name in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vláda schválila doplnení jednoslovného názvu Cesko v cizích jazycích do databází OSN|date=5 May 2016|url=https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/archiv_zprav/rok_2016/tiskove_zpravy/x_2016_05_02_vlada_schvalila_czechia.html|language=cs|website=Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí České republiky|access-date=28 August 2018|trans-title=The government has approved the addition of one-word Czech name in foreign languages to UN databases|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828220431/https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/archiv_zprav/rok_2016/tiskove_zpravy/x_2016_05_02_vlada_schvalila_czechia.html|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The short name has been listed by the [[United Nations]]<ref>{{Cite web|author=UNGEGN|title=UNGEGN List of Country Names|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/11th-uncsgn-docs/E_Conf.105_13_CRP.13_15_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document.pdf|url-status=live|page=27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725172133/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/11th-uncsgn-docs/E_Conf.105_13_CRP.13_15_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2018 }}</ref> and is used by other organizations such as the [[European Union]],<ref>{{Cite web|author=European Union|date=5 July 2016|title=Czechia|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/czechia_en|url-status=live|access-date=31 May 2021|website=European Union|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225091801/https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/czechia_en |archive-date=25 December 2018 }}</ref> [[NATO]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=NATO |title=Member countries |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/nato_countries.htm |access-date=3 October 2022 |website=NATO}}</ref> the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]],<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Czechia|access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> [[Google Maps]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 June 2017|title=Czechia: mapping progress one year on|url=https://english.radio.cz/czechia-mapping-progress-one-year-8190607|access-date=31 May 2021|website=Radio Prague International}}</ref> and the [[European Broadcasting Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ebu.ch/about/members |title=Our Members |date=17 February 2023 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 May 2023}}</ref> In 2022, the American ''[[AP Stylebook]]'' stated in its entry on the country that "Czechia, the Czech Republic. Both are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is preferred by the Czech government. If using Czechia, clarify in the story that the country is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic."<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1542946302761336836|user=APStylebook|title=We have a new Stylebook Online entry: Czechia, the Czech Republic.Both are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is…|date=1 July 2022}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page