Etymology
The name of the city, Graz (see the Slavic settlement Grad), and some archaeological finds point to the erection of a small castle by Alpine Slavic people, which in time became a heavily defended fortification. In literary Slovene, gradec literally means "small castle", which is etymologically a hypocoristic derivative of Proto-West-South Slavic *gradьcъ, itself by means of liquid metathesis descending from Common Slavic *gardьcъ, by Slavic third palatalisation from Proto-Slavic *gardiku (cf. Ancient Greek toponym Γαρδίκι) originally denoting "small town, settlement". The name thus follows the common South Slavic pattern for naming settlements as grad. The German name 'Graz' was first used in 1128.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
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