Bohemia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A historical region located in central Europe, now part of the Czech Republic ; a lifestyle or community characterized by artistic and unconventional living, often associated with creativity and a disregard for social norms
2. A geographical area once an independent kingdom in central Europe known for its rich history ; a subculture of artists and intellectuals who reject mainstream conventions in favor of free expression and alternative ways of life
3. An area historically recognized as a significant part of central European heritage ; a group or environment where people engage in artistic pursuits and live unconventionally, often outside traditional society standards

Etymology: The name of the region is older than the people who gave it its modern reputation. Late Latin called it "Boiohaemum," a compound of "Boii," the Celtic tribe that once lived there, and the Germanic "haimaz," meaning "home." So the name roughly means "home of the Boii." The Boii had abandoned the area around 60 BCE, and it was settled by Germanic peoples soon afterward, but the old name stuck. The Celtic tribal name itself may derive from a Proto-Celtic word for "cattle," pointing to cattle owners, or from a root meaning "to strike," suggesting warriors. The word's second meaning comes from France, not Bohemia. The French "Bohême" (the Latinized form that gave English its spelling) came to describe the lifestyle of impoverished, unconventional artists and writers, and English borrowed that sense. Through a chain of French usage, a place name became a way of describing a whole way of living outside respectable society.

Synonyms: artistic lifestyle, counterculture, avant-garde