Galicians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. People originating from the region of Galicia in northwest Spain; inhabitants of Galicia in eastern Central Europe; members of an ethnic group related to distinct cultural and historical backgrounds in these areas
2. Individuals belonging to the community native to northwestern Spain known as Galicia; residents of the eastern European area called Galicia, with unique traditions; persons associated with these geographically and culturally different Galician populations
3. Members of the population from the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia; citizens of the historical region of Galicia in Central Europe; persons identified with either of these cultural and regional backgrounds

Etymology: Galicians is the plural of "Galician," and the name Galicia does most of the work. Galicia is the region in northwest Spain, and the name is far older than the English word. The English adjective and noun are formed simply by adding the suffix "-an" to Galicia, the same pattern found in words like "Italian" and "American." The suffix has a long ancestry: it descends from a Latin "-ānus" that passed through Old French "-ain" and Middle English "-an" before settling into English. The same spelling names an entirely different place. Galicia is also the name of a region in Central Europe, historically part of the Habsburg lands and later divided between Poland and Ukraine. Because the two regions share a name, "Galician" covers two unrelated peoples, and the plural can refer to either. The English word itself does not carry any trace of which region is meant, so context decides.

Synonyms: Galician people, Galicians, inhabitants of Galicia