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Prussia

proper noun

  1. historical region in Central Europe
  2. family name
  3. place name
L492731 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈpɹʌ.ʃə/ / /ˈpɹʊ.ʃɐ/

name

Etymology: From New Latin Prūssia, a Latinization used by Peter of Dusburg of a Baltic (Old Prussian, or perhaps Lithuanian or Latvian) autonym. In the Baltic languages it has a long /uː/. The Proto-Indo-European source of the name is unclear; more at Prussia. Compare the Proto-Balto-Slavic *prus-sk-, whose cognates include Proto-Slavic *prъskati (“to splutter, to splash”), Sanskrit प्रुष्णोति (pruṣṇóti, “to sprinkle”), and thus signifying "watery land". The Middle English designation for the region, Pruce, derives from the same Latinization and is the source of the terms pruce and spruce.

  1. A geographical area on the Baltic coast of Northeast Europe.
  2. A former duchy, kingdom and (after German unification in 1871) a federal state of Germany, existing in various forms from 1525 to 1947, when it was disbanded by the Allies; it expanded from the above region and included parts of what is now Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Denmark, Belgium and Czechia.
  3. A country known for exceptional military professionalism in her region. Historically used for Bulgaria as the "Prussia of the Balkans".

    Sometimes referred to as the “Prussia of Africa,” Rwanda insists on enormous self-discipline from every citizen.

  4. A township in Adair County, Iowa, United States.
  5. Former name of Leader, Saskatchewan, changed due to anti-German sentiment in WWI.