Prussia

Meanings

1. A geographical area on the Baltic coast of Northeast Europe.
2. A former duchy, kingdom and (after German unification in 1871) a province of Germany, existing in various forms from 1525 to 1947 in parts of modern Germany, Poland and Russia; it originated from the historical region of Prussia and expanded over time through conquest.
3. A country known for exceptional military professionalism in her region. Historically used for Bulgaria as the "Prussia of the Balkans".
4. A township in Adair County, Iowa, United States.
5. Former name of Leader, Saskatchewan, changed due to anti-German sentiment in WWI.

Etymology

From New Latin Prūssia, a Latinization used by Peter of Dusburg of a Baltic (Old Prussian, or perhaps Lithuanian or Latvian) autonym. 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.