Bautzen

From Middle High German Būdessen (and spelling variants), from Old Sorbian. Cognate with Upper Sorbian Budyšin, Polish Budziszyn. First attested in a Medieval Latin text as Budusin in 1002. The German form is an entirely regular outcome of the Slavic: Postalveolar -š- was borrowed as retracted Middle High German -s-, and Modern German diphthongisation and syncope then yielded Bautzen.

The further origin is uncertain, but probably Slavic, with suggestions including:

Named after a prince called Budissentius, Budestaus, or alternatively a female *Budiša, from Proto-Slavic *buditi (“to awaken”). Compare names like Budigost, Budimir, Budislav.

Some sources derive it from the Slavic name of the Ortenburg castle in Bautzen, which is given as Budetzsch, but they do not explain it further. A derivation from Upper Sorbian buda (“hut”) is highly unlikely as this is a Germanic loanword.

Bautzen legend/folk etymology explains the name by a tale in which a traveling duchess gave birth in present-day Bautzen, during which the rushing husband asked budeli ssen,^[1] or perhaps in modern Upper Sorbian budźe syn? (“will it be a son?”).

Compare also Bautzen at German Wikipedia.

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /ˈbaʊ̯tsən/, [ˈbaʊ̯.t͡sn̩]
Audio (file)
Audio (file)

Proper noun edit

Bautzen n (proper noun, genitive Bautzens or (optionally with an article) Bautzen)

Bautzen (a town and rural district of Saxony, Germany)

References edit

^ Johann Georg Theodor Gräße: Der Sagenschatz des Königreichs Sachsen, 1855, Nr. 611 „Die Sage von der Entstehung des Namens Budissin“, S. 454f.; 2. Auflage 1874, 2. Band, S. 117 f. (Digitalisat auf Wikisource); Roger Rössing: Bautzen VEB F.A. Brockhaus Verlag Leipzig, 1. Auflage 1989, S. 3–4.

[1] Johann Georg Theodor Gräße: Der Sagenschatz des Königreichs Sachsen, 1855, Nr. 611 „Die Sage von der Entstehung des Namens Budissin“, S. 454f.; 2. Auflage 1874, 2. Band, S. 117 f. (Digitalisat auf Wikisource); Roger Rössing: Bautzen VEB F.A. Brockhaus Verlag Leipzig, 1. Auflage 1989, S. 3–4.

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