Etymology
In Romanian, the region is known as Ardeal or Transilvania ; in Hungarian as Erdély; in German: Siebenbürgen; and in Turkish as Transilvanya; see also other denominations.
- Transylvania was first referred to in a Medieval Latin document in 1075 as ultra silvam, meaning "beyond the forest" (ultra (+accusative) meaning "beyond" or "on the far side of" and the accusative case of sylva (sylvam) meaning "wood or forest"). Transylvania, with an alternative Latin prepositional prefix, means "on the other side of the woods". Hungarian historians claim that the Medieval Latin form Ultrasylvania, later Transylvania, was a direct translation from the Hungarian form Erdő-elve (rather than the Hungarian being derived from the Latin). That also was used as an alternative name in Ukrainian Залісся (Zalissya).
- The German name Siebenbürgen means "seven fortresses", after the seven (ethnic German) Transylvanian Saxons' cities in the region. The order in which they were settled in Transylvania being as follows: Mediasch, 1142; Muhlenbach, 1150; Hermannstadt, the capital, 1160; Clausenburg, 1178; Schässburg, 1178; Reussmarkt, 1198; Broos, 1200. To these seven were subsequently added two others, Bistritz, 1206; and Kronstadt, 1208. This is also the origin of the region's name in many other languages, such as the Polish Siedmiogród and the Ukrainian Семигород (Semyhorod).
- The Hungarian form Erdély was first mentioned in the 12th century Gesta Hungarorum as "Erdeuleu". Erdel, the Turkish equivalent originates from this form, too.
- The first known written occurrence of the Romanian name Ardeal appeared in a document in 1432 as Ardeliu.
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