List of adjectivals and demonyms for former regions

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The following is a list of adjectival forms of former regions in English and their demonymic equivalents, which denote the people or the inhabitants of these former regions.

Note: Demonyms are given in plural forms. Singular forms simply remove the final 's' or, in the case of -ese endings, are the same as the plural forms. The ending -men has feminine equivalent -women (e.g. an Irishman and a Scotswoman). The French terminations -ois / ais serve as both the singular and plural masculine; adding 'e' (-oise / aise) makes them singular feminine; 'es' (-oises / aises) makes them plural feminine. The Spanish termination "-o" usually denotes the masculine and is normally changed to feminine by dropping the "-o" and adding "-a". The plural forms are usually "-os" and "-as" respectively.

Adjectives ending -ish can be used as collective demonyms (e.g. the English, the Cornish). So can those ending in -ch / -tch (e.g. the French, the Dutch) provided they are pronounced with a 'ch' sound (e.g. the adjective Czech does not qualify).

Where an adjective is a link, the link is to the language or dialect of the same name. (Reference: Ethnologue, Languages of the World)

Many place-name adjectives and many demonyms refer also to various other things, sometimes with and sometimes without one or more additional words. (Sometimes, the use of one or more additional words is optional.) Notable examples are cheeses, cat breeds, dog breeds, and horse breeds. (See List of words derived from toponyms.)

Where an adjective is a link, the link is to the language or dialect of the same name. (Reference: Ethnologue, Languages of the World)

NameAdjective Demonym
colloquial
Abyssinia Abyssinian [1] Abyssinians
Acadia Acadian [1] Acadians
Akkadia Akkadian Akkadians
Aksum, Axum Aksumite, AxumiteAksumites, Axumites
Austria-Hungary Austro-HungarianAustro-Hungarians, Austrians, Hungarians
Babylonia Babylonian Babylonians
Bessarabia BessarabianBessarabians
Biafra BiafranBiafrans
Burma Burmese Burmesea
Byzantium ByzantineByzantines
Ceylon Ceylonese [2] Ceylonese
Confederate States of America Confederate, CSAConfederates"Rebels", "Rebs"
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak, Czechb
(Czechoslovakian is incorrect, though frequent)		Czechoslovaks, Czechs, Slovaks
Dahomey DahomeyanDahomeyans
Dalmatia DalmatianDalmatians
Eastern Nigeria EasternerEasterners
Elam Elamite, Elamitic, ElamitishElamites
Etruria Etrurian, Etruscan [3] Etruscans
Hunnic Empire Hunnic, HunnishHuns
Kampuchea KampucheanKampucheans
Katanga KatangeseKatangese
Livonia Livonian Livonians, Livs
Manchuria ManchurianManchurians
Malaya Malay, MalayanMalays, Malayans
Moldavia MoldavianMoldavians
Muscovy, MoscoviaMuscovite, MoscovianMuscovites
Papal States PapalPapalini
Parthia ParthianParthians
Pomerania PomeranianPomeranians
Prussia PrussianPrussians
Rhodesia RhodesianRhodesians
Ruthenia Ruthenian, Ruthene Ruthenians, Ruthenes, East Slavs
Rome RomanRomans
Siam SiameseSiamese
Sonargaon SonargaiyaSonargaiyas
Sudetenland SudetesSudetenlanders
Sumer Sumerian Sumerians
Soviet Union Soviet, Russian cSoviets, Russiansc
Swabia SwabianSwabians
Tartary, TartariaTartar, Tartarian Tatars, Tartars
Taurida, TavriaTauridian
Transylvania TransylvanianTransylvanians
Two Sicilies DuosicilianRegnicoli
Van Diemen's Land Van DiemonianVandemonian
Wallachia WallachianWallachians
Yugoslavia YugoslavYugoslavs"Yugos" (Derogatory, Cold War Vintage)
Zaire ZaireanZaireans
Zululand ZuluZulu, Zulus

a   Burma is also known as Myanmar.
b  "Czech" is technically incorrect here, as it is also used to distinguish Czech people from Slovaks or other ethnic groups.
c  "Russian" is technically incorrect here, as the Russian SFSR was one of several Soviet Republics.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Dickson, Paul (2006). Labels for locals. London: Collins. p. 2. ISBN   0-0608-8164-X.
  2. ↑ Dickson, Paul (2006). Labels for locals. London: Collins. p. 211. ISBN   0-0608-8164-X.
  3. ↑ Caselli, Giovanni (2022). Etruria and the origins of the Etruscans. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. x. ISBN   978-1-5275-8474-7.
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