Lietauka

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Lietauka or Letauka is a small rivulet in Lithuania that is believed to have given the name to Lithuania.[1] It is 11 km in length and flows into Neris 30 km away from Kernavė, a possible first capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It flows through a swampy region and no important archelogical findings ahve been discovered on its banks.[2] Most linguists agree that Lithuania's name (Lietuva) is related and perhaps derived from Lithuanian verb lieti (to spil).[3] Since many names in the Indo-European languages are derived from hydronyms, scientists were looking for a matching body of water. Kazys Kuzavinis identified Lietauka as a possible candidate and popularized the hypothesis.[3] The original name of Lietauka must have been Lietava.

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  1. ^ Lithuania's name. Office of the Seimas. Retrieved on January 24, 2007.
  2. ^ (Lithuanian) Baranauskas, Tomas (February 2002). "Prie Lietuvos vardo ištakų". Voruta 4 (502). Retrieved on 2007-01-24. 
  3. ^ a b "Lietuva". Encyclopedia Lituanica III: 336-337. (1970-1978). Ed. Simas Sužiedėlis. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. LCC 74-114275.