Pennsylvanian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A person from or residing in the state of Pennsylvania is identified by a specific cultural or geographic association
2. Referring to something that originates from or is characteristic of the state of Pennsylvania, especially its history or traditions
3. Denoting the features, dialect, or customs associated with individuals from Pennsylvania, often reflecting local heritage and identity

Etymology: Pennsylvanian is the simplest kind of coinage: the state name Pennsylvania with the suffix "-an" added, the same ending that gives us Virginian, Floridian or Hoosier-style demonyms in English. The state itself got its name from William Penn, the Quaker proprietor who received the land from King Charles II, and the element "Penn" traces back to the Welsh surname meaning "head" or "top" with the Latin-derived "sylvania" meaning "woodland" or "forest." That second half is where the story gets older than it looks. "Sylvania" comes from Latin "silva," meaning "forest," which itself has Indo-European roots. The Latin adjective "silvanus" meant "of the woods," and through Old French and Middle English the ending "-an" became the familiar English suffix for names of people tied to a place. So the word for a resident of Pennsylvania is, in effect, a Welsh surname joined to a Latin word for woodland, then finished with an English ending.