Austrian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Connected to the country of Austria, its culture, language, or traditions ; a native or inhabitant of Austria
2. Pertaining to anything associated with the nation of Austria including its heritage ; an individual who comes from Austria by birth or residence
3. Of or concerning Austria, including its customs and societal aspects ; someone who holds Austrian nationality or identity

Etymology: Austria is the word that gave this adjective its shape, and the country's name is older than the state itself. It comes from Old High German "ōstarrīhhi", meaning "eastern realm", built from "ōstar" ("east") and "rīhhi" ("kingdom" or "realm"). Those elements are rooted in ancient Germanic words, and the same pair of ideas sits behind the Latin form "Austria" that the modern name descends from. The English adjective is simply the country name with the suffix "-n" added, a pattern that produces many nationality words such as "Italian" or "Russian". Middle English had its own "-n" endings, and the form "Austrian" was built on that same model. It is a plain, transparent formation: the adjective names anything belonging to, or coming from, the country. The noun use follows the same pattern, so a person from Austria is an "Austrian" just as a person from Italy is an "Italian". The word's history is therefore less a story of changing meaning than a clear chain of naming, from an eastern realm in a Germanic language to a modern nation.

Synonyms: Austrian