← All words
proper noun

Silesia

/siˈlesja/

proper noun/siˈlesja/

Silesia is feminine in Spanish.

Silesia (a cultural region of Central Europe, now chiefly in Poland, with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany, from early modernity until 1945 predominantly German-speaking with Slavic-speaking minorities (and local majorities))

Related: silesiano

Learned borrowing from Late Latin Silesia. Uncertain. Two theories are prominent: a relation to the Germanic Silingi tribe, whose name is attested in Ancient Greek Σιλίγγαι (Silíngai). Or, from Old Polish ślęg, śląg meaning "dampness, humidity, moisture."