Names of the Serbs and Serbia are terms and other designations referring to general
terminology
Terminology is a group of specialized words and respective meanings in a particular field, and also the study of such terms and their use; the latter meaning is also known as terminology science. A ''term'' is a word, compound word, or multi-wo ...
and
nomenclature
Nomenclature (, ) is a system of names or terms, or the rules for forming these terms in a particular field of arts or sciences. The principles of naming vary from the relatively informal conventions of everyday speech to the internationally ag ...
on the
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
( sr, Срби, Srbi, ) and
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
( sr, Србија/Srbija, ). Throughout history, various
endonyms
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, o ...
and
exonyms
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
have been used in reference to ethnic Serbs and their lands. Basic terms, used in
Serbian language
Serbian (, ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-official in Montenegro and K ...
, were introduced via classical languages (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
) into other languages, including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. The process of interlingual transmission began during the
early medieval
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
period, and continued up to the modern times, being finalized in major international languages at the beginning of the 20th century.
Etymology
The ethnonym is mentioned in the Middle Ages as ''Cervetiis'' (''Servetiis''), ''gentis (S)urbiorum'', ''Suurbi'', ''Sorabi'', ''Soraborum'', ''Sorabos'', ''Surpe'', ''Sorabici'', ''Sorabiet'', ''Sarbin'', ''Swrbjn'', ''Servians'', ''Sorbi'', ''Sirbia, Sribia, Zirbia, Zribia'', ''Suurbelant'', ''Surbia'', ''Serbulia'' (or ''Sorbulia''), among others.
There exist two prevailing theories on the origin of the ethnonym ''*Sŕbъ'' (plur. ''*Sŕby''), one from a
Proto-Slavic language and another from an
Iranian-Sarmatian language.
Other derivations like from Old
Indic
Indic may refer to:
* Indic languages (disambiguation)
* Various scripts:
** Brahmic scripts, a family of scripts used to write Indian and other Asian languages
** Kharosthi (extinct)
* Indian numerals
* Indian religions, also known as the Dharm ...
('fight, cut, kill'), ('make up, constitute'), and el, siro (, 'repeat') are considered unreliable.
The most prominent theory considers it of Proto-Slavic origin. According to , who also argued native Slavic provenance of the ethnonym,
the theory advances a conclusion that the ethnonym has a meaning of a family kinship or alliance, and it is argued by
Pavel Jozef Šafárik
Pavel Jozef Šafárik ( sk, Pavol Jozef Šafárik; 13 May 1795 – 26 June 1861) was an ethnic Slovak philologist, poet, literary historian, historian and ethnographer in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was one of the first scientific Slavists.
Family ...
, ,
Aleksander Brückner
Aleksander Brückner (; 29 January 1856 – 24 May 1939) was a Polish scholar of Slavic languages and literatures (Slavistics), philologist, lexicographer and historian of literature. He is among the most notable Slavicists of the late 19th ...
,
Franz Miklosich
Franz Miklosich (german: Franz Ritter von Miklosich, also known in Slovene as ; 20 November 1813 – 7 March 1891) was a Slovene philologist.
Early life
Miklosich was born in the small village of Radomerščak near the Lower Styrian town of Lju ...
,
Jan Otrębski
Jan Szczepan Otrębski (8 December 188926 April 1971) was a Polish philologist, linguist, and author of 350 scientific papers in the field of Slavic and Baltic studies. He is particularly noted for his study of the Lithuanian language. He held th ...
,
Heinz Schuster-Šewc, ,
J. J. Mikkola,
Max Vasmer
Max Julius Friedrich Vasmer (; russian: Максимилиан Романович Фа́смер, translit=Maksimilian Romanovič Fásmer; 28 February 1886 – 30 November 1962) was a Russo-German linguist. He studied problems of etymology in I ...
, among others.
German-Sorbian scholar Schuster-Šewc listed the ''*srъb-'' / ''*sьrb-'' roots in Slavic words meaning "to sip, munch", found in Polish ''s(i)erbać'', Russian ''сербать'', etc., and also cognates in non-Slavic languages, such as Lithuanian ''suřbti'', Middle German ''sürfen'', which all derive from Indo-European onomatopoeic roots ''*serbh-'' / ''*sirbh-'' / ''*surbh-'' meaning "to sip, to breast-feed, to flow". According to him, the basis of the ethnonym lays in "
kinship by milk" and "brotherhood in milk" which was widespread in early ethnic groups (between both relatives and non-relatives) and thus carried the secondary meanings of "those who belong to the same family, kinsman"; "member of the same kin, tribe"; and finally an ethnonym (name of a people, nation).
According to Vasmer's etymological dictionary, the root *sъrbъ is most probably connected with Russian ''paserb'' (пасерб, "stepson") and Ukrainian ''priserbitisya'' (присербитися, "join in") in the meaning of "alliance".
Zbigniew Gołąb
Zbigniew Gołąb (16 March 1923, in Nowy Targ – 24 March 1994, in Chicago) was a Polish-American linguist and Slavist. He was described as "one of the world's greatest experts on the Macedonian language and the leading expert on Macedonian– ...
similarly derived it from Proto-Indo-European in the meaning of "outgrowth, member of the family".
Stanisław Rospond
Stanisław Rospond (December 19, 1906 – October 16, 1982) was a Polish linguist, and professor at the University of Wroclaw
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in se ...
derived the denomination of ''Srb'' from ''srbati'' (
cf.
The abbreviation ''cf.'' (short for the la, confer/conferatur, both meaning "compare") is used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. Style guides recommend that ''cf.'' be used onl ...
''sorbo'', ''absorbo''), and Proto-Indo-European base ''*serpłynąć'' as a possible reference to the humid areas inhabited by the same people, which was also argued by
Stanisław Kozierowski
Stanisław Kozierowski (1874 – 1949) was a Polish Catholic priest and historian.
Biography
Kozierowski was born in Tremessen ( Province of Posen, Imperial Germany)(today Trzemeszno, Poland). He was a Catholic priest, professor and co-founde ...
.
Another theory considers it of Iranian origin.
Oleg Trubachyov
Oleg Nikolayevich Trubachyov (also transliterated as Trubachev or Trubačev, russian: Оле́г Никола́евич Трубачёв; 23 October 1930, in Stalingrad – 9 March 2002, in Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian linguist. A re ...
derived it from Indo-Aryan ''*sar-'' (head) and ''*bai-'' (to hit),
or assumed Scythian form ''*serv'' that in Old Indian ''sarva'' has a meaning of "all" which has a semantic analogy in Germanic
Alemanni.
There are also those like J. Nalepa who related the ethnonym of the Serbs and Croats, and derived Slavic ''sьrbъ'' and ''Serboi'' (Σέρβοι) from Indo-European ''*ser-v-'' (to protect) which had an equivalent in classical Scythian language, ''*хаrv-'', from which presumably derived the Slavic ethnonym ''*хṛvati'' (Croats).
However, this theory is rejected by some Ukrainian scholars, and Russian linguists like
Vyacheslav Ivanov and
Vladimir Toporov
Vladimir Nikolayevich Toporov (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Топоро́в; 5 July 1928 in Moscow5 December 2005 in Moscow) was a leading Russian philologist associated with the Tartu-Moscow semiotic school. His wife was ...
. Such scholars claim the Serbs are unrelated to the East Slavs and, in their view, the scholarship clearly shows that the origin and meaning of the Serbian ethnonym is distant from the Croatian ethnonym.
Endonym
The earliest mention of the Serbs in the Balkans appears to be from
Einhard's ''
Royal Frankish Annals
The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...
'', written in 822 AD, when prince
Ljudevit Ljudevit () is a Croatian masculine given name. The name comes from the word ''ljudi'', meaning ''people''. The name Ljudevit is also used as a translation of foreign names such as Ludwig or Louis.
Ljudevit may refer to:
* Ljudevit (Lower Pannon ...
went from his seat at
Sisak to the Serbs (believed to have been somewhere in
western Bosnia). Einhard mentions "the Serbs, a people that is said to hold a large part of
Dalmatia" ( la, ad Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur). , written by Byzantine emperor
Constantine VII in the mid-10th century, tells a version of the early history of the Serbs. He mentions
White Serbia
White Serbia ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Бела Србија, Bela Srbija; wen, Biеło Srbsko), called also Boiki ( grc, Βοΐκι, Boḯki; sr-Cyrl-Latn, link=no, Бојка, Bojka; wen, links=no, Boika), is the name applied to the assumed homeland of ...
(or ''Boiki''), from whence migrated the
White Serbs
The Sorbs, also known as White Serbs in Serbian historiography, were an Early Slavic tribe settled between Saale-Elbe valley up to Lusatian Neisse (in present-day Saxony and Thuringia), and part of the Wends. In the 7th century, the tribe joined ...
. The emperor contended that their name in the tongue of the Romans means a "servant"; because of which the signifies 'menial shoes', while is for those who wear poor man's footwear; and additionally, that the region or town of
Servia (''Serblia'') near
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
received its name from the Serbs who once lived there.
This derivation is
false etymology
A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...
(a paraetymology), and the account's reliability is also disputed.
Some scholars argue that the Serb ethnonym is antique. According to this theory, it is connected to the mentions of
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
in 50 AD,
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
in 77 AD (''
Naturalis Historia
The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...
'') and
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
in his ''Geography'' 2nd century AD, of the
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
tribe of
Serboi __NOTOC__
The Serboi ( grc, Σέρβοι, Sérboi) was a tribe mentioned in Greco-Roman geography as living in the North Caucasus, believed by scholars to have been Sarmatian.
Etymology
Moszyński derived the name from Indo-European ''*ser-'', '' ...
of the North
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
and Lower
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...
.
Đorđe Branković
Đorđe Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Бранковић; anglicized as ''George''; also known as Saint Maksim; b. 1461 – d. 1516) was the last male member of the Branković dynasty, and titular Despot of Serbia from 1486 to 1497. The titl ...
(1645–1711), in his ''Chronicles'', wrote: "The Serbian name comes from the
Savromat name, as
Philipp Melanchthon testifies... According to a second version the Serbian name comes from the
Sires people who used to live in the Asian part of
Scythia
Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe.
Hi ...
. Among the Sires, wool grew in the same way as silk". In 1878,
Henry Hoyle Howorth
Sir Henry Hoyle Howorth (1 July 1842 – 15 July 1923) was a British Conservative politician, barrister and amateur historian and geologist.''Obituary: Sir Henry Howorth, A Life of Wide Interests, Politics, Science, and Art'', The Times, ...
connected Ptolemy's mention of the town of
Serbinum (Σέρβινον), modern
, to the Serbs, and also found the Serb ethnonym ''Cervetiis'' (''Servetiis'') in the works of
Vibius Sequester
Vibius Sequester (active in the 4th or 5th century AD) is the Latin author of lists of geographical names.
Work
''De fluminibus, fontibus, lacubus, nemoribus, gentibus, quorum apud poëtas mentio fit'' is made up of seven alphabetical lists of ...
. In ''De Bello Gothico''
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gen ...
(500-565) uses the name ''
Sporoi Sporoi ( el, Σπόροι) or Spori was according to Eastern Roman scholar Procopius (500–560) the old name of the Antes and Sclaveni, two Early Slavic branches. Procopius stated that the Sclaveni and Antes spoke the same language, but he did n ...
'' as an umbrella term for the Slavic tribes of
Antes and
Sclaveni
The ' (in Latin) or ' (various forms in Greek, see below) were early Slavic tribes that raided, invaded and settled the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages and eventually became the progenitors of modern South Slavs. They were mentioned by early Byz ...
, it is however not known whether the Slavs used this designation for themselves or he himself coined the term. It has been theorized by the older generation of scholars that the name is a corruption of the ethnonym ''Serbs'',
[Elements of Ethnic Identification of the Serbs]
By Danijela Gavrilović. ''Facta Universitatis''. Series: Philosophy, Sociology and Psychology Vol. 2, n° 10, 2003, pp. 717 - 730. as ''Sporoi'' may be identical with 'Sorpi=Serpi=Serbi' and 'Sclavini'.
Exonyms
During the medieval and early modern period, several exonyms were used as designations for Serbs and Serbia.
;Rascia and Rasciani
Since the late 12th century, the term ''Rascia'' (), with several variants (Rasscia, Rassia, Rasia, Raxia), was used as an
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
for Serbia in Latin sources, along with other names such as ''Servia'', ''Dalmatia'' and ''Slavonia''. It was derived from the town of
Ras
Ras or RAS may refer to:
Arts and media
* RAS Records Real Authentic Sound, a reggae record label
* Rundfunk Anstalt Südtirol, a south Tyrolese public broadcasting service
* Rás 1, an Icelandic radio station
* Rás 2, an Icelandic radio stati ...
, a royal estate, and seat of
an eparchy. The first attestation is in a charter from
Kotor
Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
dated to 1186, in which
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nema ...
, the
Grand Prince
Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...
(1166–1196), is mentioned as "''
župan
Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrative unit župa (or zhupa, županij ...
'' of Rascia". It was one of the common names for Serbia in western sources (
Papacy
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, Italian, German, French, etc.), often in conjunction with ''Serbia'' (''Servia et Rascia''). "Rascia" was never used in Byzantine works.
The term is often used in modern historiography to refer to the medieval "Serbian hinterland" or "inner Serbia", that is, the inland territories in relation to the
maritime principalities at the Adriatic (the "
Pomorje
Pomorje ( sr-Cyrl, Поморје), also known (in plural) as the Lands of Pomorje ( sr, / ), is a medieval term, used to designate several maritime regions of Upper Dalmatia and its hinterland, that at the end of the 12th century, during the r ...
"). The term is attested since the late 12th century, but in historiography, the early medieval
Serbian Principality is sometimes also called ''Raška'' (Rascia), erroneously (and anachronistically).
In DAI, the Serbian hinterland is called "baptized Serbia", while Ras is only mentioned as a border town.
[ The misconceptions arose from the much later '']Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja
The ''Chronicle of the Priest of Dioclea or Duklja'' ( sh, Ljetopis popa Dukljanina) is the usual name given to a purportedly medieval chronicle written in the late 13th century by an anonymous priest from Duklja. Its oldest preserved copy is in La ...
'', that projected later terminology on earlier periods.[ In historical reality of the early medieval period, the city of Ras became a local administrative center only in 970-975, when Byzantines created a short-lived ]Catepanate of Ras
The Catepanate of Ras (Byzantine Greek: ) was a province ( catepanate) of the Byzantine Empire, established around 971 in central regions of early medieval Serbia, during the rule of Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes (969–976). The catepanate ...
. In 1019, the Eparchy of Ras
Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...
was organized, with jurisdiction over eastern parts of inner Serbia, and thus the foundation was laid for gradual emergence of a regional name, derived from Ras. Retaking the city of Ras from Byzantines, local Serbian rulers made it one of their main seats, and since it was also a seat of a local bishop of Ras, it gradually became the most important center of inner Serbia. By the end of the 12th century, term Raška (Rascia) became common designation for central parts of inner Serbia, and it was also used to designate the state centered in that region, namely the Serbian state of the Nemanjić dynasty
The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rul ...
.
Between the 15th and 18th centuries, the term ( la, Rascia, hu, Ráczság) was used to designate the southern Pannonian Plain
The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...
inhabited by Serbs, or "Rascians
Rascians ( sr, Раши, Рашани / ''Raši, Rašani''; la, Rasciani, Natio Rasciana) was a historical term for Serbs. The term was derived from the Latinized name for the central Serbian region of Raška ( la, Rascia; sr-Cyrl, Рашка ...
" ( la, Rasciani, Natio Rasciana, hu, Rác(ok)), who had settled there following the Ottoman conquests and Great Serb migrations
The Great Migrations of the Serbs ( sr, Велике сеобе Срба), also known as the Great Exoduses of the Serbs, refers mainly to two Human migrations, large migrations of Serbs from various territories under the rule of the Ottoman Em ...
.
;Other medieval exonyms
*The Serbs were often called "Triballi" in Byzantine works. The ''Triballi
The Triballi ( grc, Τριβαλλοί, Triballoí, lat, Triballi) were an ancient people who lived in northern Bulgaria in the region of Roman Oescus up to southeastern Serbia, possibly near the territory of the Morava Valley in the late Iron A ...
'' was an ancient Thracian tribe that inhabited the area of the Morava Valley
The Morava Valley ( sr, Поморавље / ''Pomoravlje'', ), is a general term which in its widest sense marks valleys of any of three Morava rivers in Serbia: the West Morava (West Morava Valley), the South Morava ( South Morava Valley) and ...
in southern Serbia. They were last mentioned in the 3rd century. The educated Byzantine authors sought an ancient name for the Serbs, and adopted it as the most likely. It was in use between the 11th and 15th century.
*In the Byzantine chronicle '' Alexiad'', covering the 11th century (written in 1148), Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
mentions the Serbs by the names ''Sklaveni'' and ''Dalmati'' (Δαλμάται, ''Dalmatai''), with ''Dalmatia'' starting from Kosovo and Metohija. John Kinnamos
Joannes Kinnamos, or John Cinnamus ( el, or Κίναμος; born shortly after 1143, died after 1185), was a Byzantine historian. He was imperial secretary (Greek "grammatikos", most likely a post connected with the military administration) to Em ...
, in his work covering 1118–76, wrote: "the Serbs, a Dalmatic (Dalmatian) tribe" ( gr, Σέρβιοι, έθνος Δαλματικόν), thus using "Dalmat(ian)s" or "Dalmatic (Dalmatian) people" in the context of the Serbs, and "Dalmatia" in the context of Serbia. There are numerous other, less prominent, instances, poetic for example — Theodore Prodromus, Michael Italicus and the typikon of the Pantokrator monastery, among others.
;Early modern exonyms
*"Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
", referring to pastoralists, was a common exonym for Serbs in the Ottoman Empire and later.[ The term "Vlachs" was also used for Slavs who shared lifestyle (as shepherds) with Romance peoples ('']Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
''); it was used for the Serbs who settled the Military Frontier.[ ][ ] Documents of the 13th–15th century show that Vlachs, the descendants of indigenous peoples, were considered by Serbs as "other", and distinct from themselves. How Serbs perceived these differences or their basis for "othering" is largely unknown, as very little evidence survives. There were specific and separate regulations for Serbs and Vlachs, however, which included prohibition on intermarriage. Croatian nationalist historiography (including Ustashe propaganda) claim that the settlers were not Serbs, but ethnic Vlachs, thus implying that Serbs of Croatia are not Serbs.[ All South Slavic ethnic groups had some Romance ingredient, although there is no evidence that all or most Serbs in Croatia were of Vlach origin.][ In Bosnia, Orthodox Christians were called "Vlachs", actually used as a synonym of "Serbs". It was used as a derogatory term, and as a common name for Orthodox Serbs in Catholic lands, and lesser in the Ottoman Empire. Tihomir Đorđević (1868–1944), as did other academics, stressed that the name "Vlach" did not only refer to genuine ]Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other E ...
(Romance-speaking people), but also to cattle breeders in general. Serbs that took refuge in the Habsburg Military Frontier
The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...
were called "Vlachs" by the Croats.[ In the work ''About the Vlachs'' (1806), Metropolitan ]Stevan Stratimirović
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
stated that Roman Catholics from Croatia and Slavonia scornfully used the name "Vlach" for "the Slovenians (Slavs) and Serbs, who are of our, Eastern rthodoxconfession", and that "the Turks (Muslims) in Bosnia and Serbia also call every Bosnian or Serbian Christian a Vlach". That the name "Vlach" used to signify the Serbs is testified by Vuk Karadžić in his many recorded proverbs.[ The term may have originated from ]Stari Vlah Stari ( sla, Stari, "Old One") could have multiple meanings:
* Stari, a rural locality in Babushkinsky District of Vologda Oblast of Russia.
* Stari, a nickname of Đuro Pucar.
* Stari, a nickname of Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, ...
, from where refugees arrived in what was then the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
.
*In Dalmatia, terms used for Serbs were: "Morlachs
Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци or , ; it, Morlacchi; ro, Morlaci) has been an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach p ...
" (''Morlaci''), "Vlachs" (''Vlasi''), ''Rkaći'', ''Rkači'', "Greek Dalmatians" (''Garčki Dalmatini''), or "Greek people". The Catholics used the pejorative word ''rkać'', derived from Venetian, for Orthodox people. The terms ''Rišćani'', ''Rkaći'' (''Grkaći''), ''Morlaci'' (''crni Vlasi''), were used for primitive shepherds, Serbs, who moved in Bukovica, and mountain pastures on the border of Lika (Velebit) and Bosnia (Dinara).
*''Illyrians'' ( la, Illyrii), or the ''Illyrian nation'' ( la, Natio Illyrica): During the early modern period, Serbs were also referred to as ''Illyrians'', most commonly by the state administration of the Habsburg monarchy. Since the end of the 17th century, those archaic terms were used in a classicizing manner, as a historical reference for geographical position of Serbian homeland in regions that were formerly covered by the ancient Illyricum. Among official documents that used such terminology was the ''Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation
Declaratory Rescript of the Illyrian Nation ( lat, Rescriptum Declaratorium Illyricae Nationis; sr-cyr, Деклараторни рескрипт илирске нације, Деклараторија) was issued on 16 July 1779 by Maria Theresa ...
'' ( la, Rescriptum Declaratorium Illyricae Nationis), issued in 1779 by Empress Maria Theresa in order to regulate several questions related to position of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci
The Metropolitanate of Karlovci ( sr, Карловачка митрополија, Karlovačka mitropolija) was a metropolitanate of the Eastern Orthodox Church that existed in the Habsburg monarchy between 1708 and 1848. Between 1708 and 1713 ...
.
Misnaming
Because of a confusion of ethnicity/nationality with religious affiliation, many authors from historic times referred to and recorded Serbs by the following names:
*by the major regional names of: Bosnians, Herzegovinians, Krajishniks and Slavonians.
Pejorative
*Serbomans
Serbomans (Serbo-Croatian and mk, србомани, srbomani; bg, сърбомани, sarbomani; ro, sârbomani) is a Bulgarian pejorative term used by Bulgarian nationalists for inhabitants in the region of Macedonia that claimed Serbian ethni ...
, Serbs in Bulgaria
* Raci, Serbs in Austro-Hungary
* Tschusch, Serbs in Austria
*Vlach
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
, Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Shkije, in Kosovo and Metochia and Albania
Anthroponymy
;Male given names
Srba, Srbislav, Srbivoje, Srbko, Srboje, Srbomir, Srborad, Srbomil, Srboljub, Srbobran.
;Female given names
Srbijanka, Srbinka, and others.
;Surnames
Srbinac, Srbinić, Srbinov, Srbinovac, Srbinović, Srbinovski, Srbić, Srbović, Srbljanović, Srbljanin, Srbljak, Srpčić, Serban, and others.
Toponymy
There are many toponyms that are supposedly related to endonyms and exonyms for Serbs.
Historical
* Gordoservon/Servochoria, in Phrygia of Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
(modern central Turkey) (Early Middle Ages)
* Novaya Serbiya, military province in Imperial Russia (modern Ukraine) (1752–1764)
* Slavyanoserbiya, military province in Imperial Russia (modern Ukraine) (1753–1764)
*Republic of Serbian Krajina
The Republic of Serbian Krajina or Serb Republic of Krajina ( sh, Република Српска Крајина, italics=no / or РСК / ''RSK'', ), known as the Serbian Krajina ( / ) or simply Krajina, was a self-proclaimed Serb proto-state, ...
(Republika Srpska Krajina)
Renderings in other languages
Historical renderings in other languages:
*Servii, Latin rendering.
**Serviani/Servians, medieval French and English rendering of the Serbs.
Modern renderings in other languages:
*Macedonian, Montenegrin, Bosnian, Slovak and Slovene: Srbi (Срби)
* be, Сербы, bg, Сърби, it, Serbi, mt, Serbi, uk, Серби, la, Serbi : Serbi
* ar, صرب
*Simplified
*Traditional
* cs, Srbové
* cy, Serbiaid
*german: Serben
* et, Serblased
* el, Σέρβοι (Servi)
* es, Serbios
* eo, Serboj
*french: Serbes
* ko, 세르비아인
* he, סרבים
* hi, सर्ब लोग
* os, Сербаг адæм
* ka, სერბები
* lt, Serbai
* hu, Szerbek
* nl, Serviërs / Serven"
* ja, セルビア人
* no, Serbere
* pl, Serbowie
* pt, Sérvios
* ro, Sârbi
*russian: Сербы
* sq, Serbët
* cu, Срь́би
* fi, Serbit
* sv, Serber
* tt-Cyrl, Серблар
* tr, Sırplar
See also
* Serbian names
This article features the naming culture of personal names of ethnic Serbs and the Serbian language. Serbian names are rendered in the "Western name order" with the surname placed after the given name. "Eastern name order" may be used when mul ...
* Serbians
The term Serbians in English is a polysemic word, with two distinctive meanings, derived from morphological differences:
* Morphology 1: Serb- ian- s, derived from the noun ''Serb'' and used interchangeably to refer to ethnic Serbs, thus havi ...
Notes
References
{{Reflist, 25em
Sources
;Primary
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{{refend
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This English translation in PDF format "corresponds to the first English edition of 2004". Made available by the author.
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* {{cite journal, last=Schuster-Šewc, first=Η., year=1985, title=Zur Geschichte und Etymologie des ethnischen Namens Sorb/Serb/Sarb/Srb, journal=Zeitschrift für Slawistik, volume=30, issue=1–6, pages=847–852, doi=10.1524/slaw.1985.30.16.847, s2cid=170173568, language=de
{{refend
{{Europe topic, Name of
{{DEFAULTSORT:Names Of The Serbs
History of the Serbs
Ethnonyms
Country name etymology, Serbia