Bosnia and Herzegovina - Etymology

Etymology

The first preserved mention of the name "Bosnia" is in De Administrando Imperio, a politico-geographical handbook written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII in the mid-10th century (between 948 and 952) describing the "small country" (χωρίον in Greek) of "Bosona" (Βοσώνα). The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja from 1172-1196 of Bar's Roman Catholic Christian Archbishop Grgur names Bosnia, and references an earlier source from the year of 753 - the De Regno Sclavorum (Of the Realm of Slavs). The name "Bosnia" probably comes from the name of the Bosna river around which it has been historically based, which was recorded in the Roman era under the name Bossina. More direct roots of the river's names are unknown. Philologist Anton Mayer proposed a connection with the Indo-European root *bos or *bogh, meaning "running water". Certain Roman sources similarly mention Bathinus flumen as a name of the Illyrian Bosona, both of which would mean "running water" as well. Other theories involve the rare Latin term Bosina, meaning boundary, and possible Slavic origins.

The origins of "Herzegovina" can be identified with more precision. During the Early Middle Ages the region was known as Hum, from the Zachlumoi tribe of southern Slavs which inhabited it. In the 1440s, the region was ruled by the powerful nobleman Stephen Vukčić Kosača. In a document sent to Friedrich III on January 20, 1448, Stefan Vukčić Kosača called himself "Herzog of Saint Sava, Lord of Hum and Primorje, Grand Duke of Bosnia". Herzog is the German for "duke", and so the lands he controlled later became known as Herzegovina ("Dukedom", from the addition of -ovina, "land"). The region was administered by the Ottomans as the Sanjak of Herzegovina (Hersek), which was briefly elevated to the status of an Eyalet of Herzegovina in the 19th century.

On initial proclamation of independence in 1992 the country's official name was the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina but following the 1995 Dayton Agreement and the new constitution that accompanied it the name was officially changed to Bosnia and Herzegovina.