Valachian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Pertaining to the historical region and people of southeastern Europe known as Wallachia; relating to the cultural, linguistic, or ethnic identity associated with this area; describing anything originating from this geographic region
2. Connected to the territory formerly recognized as Wallachia in what is now Romania; associated with the traditions, language, or heritage of the Wallachian people; indicating origins or characteristics linked to that locale
3. Relating to the southeastern European region called Wallachia and its inhabitants; concerning the ethnic group, dialect, or customs traditionally found there; denoting something derived from that specific historical province

Etymology: "Valachian" is an English spelling variant of "Wallachian," and the name behind it is ultimately Germanic. The Slavic and Turkic peoples who encountered the Romance-speaking inhabitants of the Balkans and the lower Danube called them some form of "Vlach," a word that appears to derive from a Germanic root meaning "foreigner" or "Romance speaker," the same root that gives "Welsh" and "Walloon." Medieval Latin and Greek sources record variants such as "Blachi" and "Vlachi," and the name was applied to several related groups across the region, not only to the people of the principality later known as Wallachia. The principality itself took its name from these people. Wallachia emerged as a distinct polity in the 13th and 14th centuries, and its rulers and inhabitants were known to neighbors by this ethnonym. The adjective "Valachian" followed the same path, with the "V" and "W" spellings competing in English for centuries; "Wallachian" has become the more common form in modern usage. Both spellings are attested in English sources from the early modern period onward.

Synonyms: wallachian