Bosniaks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A South Slavic ethnic group forming the largest community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, mainly Muslim by religious tradition and Slavic speaking
2. The people of Slavic origin who make up the main population group of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often identified by their Muslim heritage
3. A South Slavic people native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, traditionally adherents of Islam and speakers of the Bosnian language

Etymology: "Bosniaks" is the plural of "Bosniak", a term for a member of the South Slavic people of Bosnia. The singular was borrowed from Serbo-Croatian "Bòšnjāk", which is built on "Bȍsna", the Serbo-Croatian name for Bosnia. The ending "-ak" is a suffix that forms nouns denoting a person connected with a place, so the word simply means someone from Bosnia. The same pattern gave English its near-twin "Bosniac", formed by adding the suffix "-ac" directly to "Bosnia". Both forms describe the same people, and the difference lies only in which language's ending was carried over. The spelling with "-ak" follows the Serbo-Croatian form, which is why it is the one used by the community itself.