Krajina
Krajina (pronounced [krâjina]) is a Slavic toponym, meaning 'frontier' or 'march'. The term is related with kraj or krai, originally meaning "edge"[1] and today denoting a region or province, usually distant from the metropole.
Etymology[]
The Serbo-Croatian word krajina derives from Proto-Slavic *krajina, derived from *krajь, meaning "edge", related to *krojiti, "to cut";[1][2] the original meaning of krajina thus seems to have been "place at an edge, fringe, borderland", as reflected in the meanings of Church Slavonic краина, kraina,[2] and Old East Slavic окраина, okraina.[3]
In some South Slavic languages, including Serbo-Croatian and Slovene, the word krajina or its cognate still refers primarily to a border, fringe, or borderland of a country (sometimes with an established military defense), and secondarily to a region, area, or landscape.[2][4] The word kraj can today mean an end or extremity, or region or area. Archaically extrapolated, it could mean "army" or "war";[4] this meaning developed from the earlier meaning of "borderland" in a manner analogous to the French word campagne.[2] The term is equal to German Mark and French marche.[5] In the Habsburg Empire, a large region in modern Croatia was referred to as a Military Frontier (Militärgrenze; Vojna krajina).
In other Slavic languages (including the Chakavian and Kajkavian dialects of Serbo-Croatian), the term has other meanings, either a territorial name (cf. Krajna in Poland, from Old Polish kraina, meaning region, borderland, extremity[2]) or word with meaning "a land, landscape" (e.g. in Polish, Slovak, Czech or Sorbian). In Slovenian, the word means both "landscape" and march.
Geographical regions[]
Bosnia and Herzegovina[]
- Bosanska Krajina, in triangle roughly between Banja Luka, Prijedor and Bihać, and encompassing a larger area westwards from the Vrbas river to Una, and toward the Sava on the north, while on the south it is bordered by the Unac. during the medieval Bosnia the region was known as Donji Kraji.
- , borderland of Bosnia towards Croatia around the city of Cazin. Today it is considered as Una-Sana Canton.
[]
- Krajina - medieval name for the region(s) in Central Dalmatia in Croatia, including parts of Lower Neretva and western Herzegovina in today Bosnia and Herzegovina. It spread in the east-west direction, between the lower course of the river Neretva in the east, and the river Cetina, in the west, and in south-north direction, between the rivers Vrljika and Trebižat, mountains Dinara, Mosor and Biokovo, on the north, and Adriatic Sea;
- , historical area westwards from river of Neretva, southwest from župa Imota;[6]
- , area in Zagora, in southern Croatia, around the city of Vrgorac, southwest from Herzegovina and west from Neretva valley, to east from Imotska krajina;
- , area in Zagora, in southern Croatia, around the city of Vrlika, west from Livanjski kraj, northwest from Cetinska krajina (sometimes considered as part of Cetinska krajina);
- , area along the valley of river Cetina in the southern Croatia, in Zagora, to the east from Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina), mostly containing .
Croatia[]
- Krayna vu Otoce: medieval Glagolitic name of Gacka valley in Lika highlands.
- Krajina - medieval name for the region(s) in Central Dalmatia in Croatia, including parts of Lower Neretva and western Herzegovina in today Bosnia and Herzegovina. It spread in the east-west direction, between the lower course of the river Neretva in the east, and the river Cetina, in the west, and in south-north direction, between the rivers Vrljika and Trebižat, mountains Dinara, Mosor and Biokovo, on the north, and Adriatic Sea;
- a part of peri-littoral area near Makarska in Croatia is called Krajina;
- , region in hinterland of city of Omiš, in Croatian south, in Zagora; to east from Cetinska krajina, to west from Cetinska krajina;
- municipality of Krajina, a municipality in southern Croatia, located between Split and Imotski, existed from 1912–1945;
- , area around the city of Imotski, in southern Croatia, in Zagora mostly containing .
- , area around the city of Drniš in southern Croatia, in Zagora, to west from Cetinska krajina to east from Cetinska and Omiška krajina, to west from Vrgoračka krajina;
- also the name of the soccer club from Imotski.
- , historical region in western Croatia, central area of peninsula of Istria.
- Kninska Krajina, region around Knin in southern Croatia, to north from Drniška krajina and northeast from Cetinska krajina.
- , area in Zagora, in southern Croatia, around the city of Sinj, west from Livanjski kraj, southeast from Vrlička krajina (sometimes considered as part of Cetinska krajina).
- Krajina is also a Croat surname.
Montenegro[]
- Skadarska Krajina, region north from Bar and Ulcinj, across the mountain. It borders Skadar Lake on its northern edge.
Poland[]
- Krajna, on the border of provinces Greater Poland and Pomerania.
Serbia[]
- Timok Valley (Serbian: Тимочка Крајина, romanized: Timočka Krajina), borderland of Serbia towards Bulgaria around Timok River;
- Negotin Valley (Serbian: Неготинска Крајина, romanized: Negotinska Krajina), a part of the Timok Valley around the city of Negotin.
- Koča's krajina, an area liberated during eighth Austrian-Turkish war.
Slovenia[]
- White Carniola (Slovene: Bela krajina), borderland of Slovenia towards Croatia.
Political regions[]
Subdivisions of Austria-Hungary:
- Military Frontier (Serbo-Croatian: Vojna krajina, German: Militärgrenze), borderland of Austrian Empire against the Ottoman Empire. It was further divided into:
- Banat Krajina (on the Serbian-Romanian border)
- Croatian Krajina (on the border of western Croatia and Bosnia)
- Slavonian Krajina (on the border of Serbia and eastern Croatia towards Bosnia)
Political units formed by rebel Serbs at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence (1991–95):
- Republic of Serbian Krajina (1991–95)
- SAO Krajina
- SAO Kninska Krajina, Kninska Krajina since the Yugoslav wars is used by some to signify two regions Knin and its surroundings, and to a larger extent Krajina proper (referring to main portion of Republic of Serb Krajina).
- SAO Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia, sometimes called Podunavska Krajina
Political unit formed by Serbs in the prelude (1991) of the Bosnian War (1992–95):
Where the term "Serbian Krajina" or "Krajina" alone is used, it most often refers to the former Republic of Serbian Krajina.
In Russia:
- In Russian, kray (край) is the word for the territories of Russia, a second-level subdivision
In Slovakia:
- In Slovak, kraj is used for the regions of Slovakia, a first-level subdivision
In Czech Republic:
- In Czech, kraj is used for the regions of the Czech Republic, a first-level subdivision
In Ukraine:
- In Ukrainian, krajina (країна) means "country, land", while Ukrajina is the country name. See also: Name of Ukraine.
People[]
- Krajina Belojević, a 9th-century Serbian Duke in the Principality of Serbia
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Rick Derksen (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Brill: Leiden-Boston, page 244
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e “*krajina” in Oleg Trubačóv (ed.) (1974–), Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages], Moscow: Nauka, volume 12, pages 87-88
- ^ Max Vasmer (1986), Etimologičeskij slovarʹ russkogo jazyka [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language], in 4 vols (second edition), Moscow: Progress — Translated from German and supplemented by O. N. Trubačóv
- ^ Jump up to: a b Group of authors (1969). "Кра̏јина". Речник српскохрватскога књижевног језика, vol. 3 (in Serbo-Croatian). Novi Sad/Zagreb: Matica srpska/Matica hrvatska. p. 30.
- ^ Group of authors (1972). "Krajina". In colonel-general Nikola Gažević (ed.). Vojna enciklopedija, vol. 4 (in Serbo-Croatian). Belgrade. p. 681.
- ^ (in Croatian) Excerpt from the book I. Marinović, B. Šutić, M. Viskić: Baćina: Prošlost Baćine, Udruga Pagania, Ploče, 2005, ISBN 953-95132-0-0
- Karlo Jurišić, Lepantska pobjeda i makarska Krajina, Adriatica maritima, sv. I, (Lepantska bitka, Udio hrvatskih pomoraca u Lepantskoj bitki 1571. godine), Institut JAZU u Zadru, Zadar, 1974., str. 217., 222., (reference from Morsko prase)
- Slavic toponyms
- Serbo-Croatian toponyms