Romania

==Etymology==
{{Main|Name of Romania}}

"Romania" derives from the local name for [[Romanians|Romanian]] ({{lang-ro|român}}), which in turn derives from [[Latin]] [[wikt:romanus|''romanus'']], meaning "[[Roman people|Roman]]" or "of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=rom%C3%A2n |title=''Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language'', 1998; ''New Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language'', 2002 |publisher=Dexonline.ro |access-date=25 September 2010 |language=ro |url-status=live |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160517200517/http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv%3Drom%25C3%25A2n |archive-date=17 May 2016  }}</ref> This ethnonym for Romanians is first attested in the 16th&nbsp;century by Italian humanists travelling in [[Transylvania]], [[Moldavia]], and [[Wallachia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |quote={{lang|it|...&nbsp;si dimandano in lingua loro Romei&nbsp;... se alcuno dimanda se sano parlare in la lingua valacca, dicono a questo in questo modo: Sti Rominest ? Che vol dire: Sai tu Romano,&nbsp;...}} |author=Cl. Isopescu|title=Notizie intorno ai romeni nella letteratura geografica italiana del Cinquecento|journal=Bulletin de la Section Historique|volume=XVI|year=1929|pages=1–90}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|quote={{lang|it|Anzi essi si chiamano romanesci, e vogliono molti che erano mandati quì quei che erano dannati a cavar metalli&nbsp;...}}|first=Maria|last=Holban|title=Călători străini despre Țările Române|language=ro|publisher=Ed. Științifică și Enciclopedică|year=1983|volume=II|pages=158–161}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |quote={{lang|fr|Tout ce pays la Wallachie et Moldavie et la plus part de la Transilvanie a eté peuplé des colonies romaines du temps de Traian l'empereur&nbsp;... Ceux du pays se disent vrais successeurs des Romains et nomment leur parler romanechte, c'est-à-dire romain&nbsp;...}} |title=Voyage fait par moy, Pierre Lescalopier l'an 1574 de Venise a Constantinople, fol 48|first=Paul|last=Cernovodeanu|journal=Studii și Materiale de Istorie Medievală|volume=IV|year=1960|page=444|language=ro}}</ref> The oldest known surviving document written in [[Romanian language|Romanian]] that can be precisely dated, a 1521 letter known as the "[[Neacșu's letter|Letter of Neacșu from Câmpulung]]",<ref>{{Citation |last=Iliescu |first=Maria |title=History of the Romanian Lexicon |date=2021-05-26 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.471 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics |access-date=2023-08-22 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.471 |isbn=978-0-19-938465-5 }}</ref> is notable for including the first documented occurrence of ''Romanian'' in a country name: Wallachia is mentioned as {{lang|ro|Țara Rumânească}}.