Etymology
All variations of the city's name derive from the original (and current) appellation in Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη (from Θεσσαλός, Thessalos, and Νίκη, Nike), literally translating to "Thessalian Victory" and in origin the name of a princess, Thessalonike of Macedon, who was named so because she was born on the day of the Macedonian victory at the Battle of Crocus Field.
The alternative name Salonica or Salonika, derived from the variant form Σαλονίκη (Saloníki) in popular Greek speech, gives rise to several languages' form of the city's name and is formerly the common name used in some western European languages. Names in other languages prominent in the city's history include Солоунь (Soloun) in Old Church Slavonic, Salonika in Ladino, Selanik (also Selânik) in Turkish (سلانیك in Ottoman Turkish), Solun (also written as Солун) in the local and neighboring South Slavic languages, Салоники (Saloníki) in Russian, and Sãrunã in Aromanian. In local speech, the city's name is typically pronounced with a dark and deep L characteristic of Macedonian Greek accent. The name is often written in the abbreviated form Θεσ/νίκη.
Read more about this topic: Thessaloniki
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)