Etymology and Names
Warsaw's name in the Polish language, Warszawa (also formerly spelled Warszewa and Warszowa), means "belonging to Warsz", Warsz being a shortened form of the masculine name of Slavic origin Warcisław; see also etymology of Wrocław. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman Wars and his wife Sawa. According to legend, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula River who Wars fell in love with. Actually, Warsz was a 12th/13th century nobleman who owned a village located at the site of today's Mariensztat neighbourhood. The official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa (English: "The Capital City of Warsaw"). A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian.
Other names for Warsaw include Warschau (German and Dutch), װאַרשע/Varshe (Yiddish), Варшава/Varshava (Russian, Bulgarian, Belorussian, Ukranian), Varšava (Slovak, Czech, Latvian, Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian), Varšuva (Lithuanian), Varsó (Hungarian), Varsovia (Spanish and Latin), Varsovie (French), Varsavia (Italian), ורשה/Varsha (Hebrew), Huáshā 華沙 (Mandarin Chinese), and وارسو/فارسوفيا Wārsō/Fārsōfyā (Arabic).
For the name of Warsaw in various languages, see wikt:Warsaw.Read more about this topic: Warsaw
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