entry
occitania
/ˌɒksɪˈteɪniə/Historical cultural region where Occitan was spoken
From Latin, through Old Occitan oc (“this).
Word Ancestry
A tiny word—òc, meaning “yes”—ended up naming a vast cultural landscape. In medieval southern France, people answered affirmatively with òc, while speakers farther north used oïl, an older form that eventually became modern French oui; Europe could practically map its linguistic border by asking a question. Medieval Latin writers turned that southern “yes” into Occitania, probably by attaching a territorial ending modeled on names such as Aquitania. By the thirteenth century, the label was being used for the lands where Occitan was spoken, stretching across much of southern France and into valleys of Italy and parts of Spain. So Occitania is, in a wonderfully literal sense, the country of the people who said “yes”—a linguistic answer inflated into a landscape.
The Story
A tiny word—òc, meaning “yes”—ended up naming a vast cultural landscape. In medieval southern France, people answered affirmatively with òc, while speakers farther north used oïl, an older form that eventually became modern French oui; Europe could practically map its linguistic border by asking a question. Medieval Latin writers turned that southern “yes” into Occitania, probably by attaching a territorial ending modeled on names such as Aquitania. By the thirteenth century, the label was being used for the lands where Occitan was spoken, stretching across much of southern France and into valleys of Italy and parts of Spain. So Occitania is, in a wonderfully literal sense, the country of the people who said “yes”—a linguistic answer inflated into a landscape.
Kin & Kindred
From 'oc'·“this,” later used as “yes”
Cognates
Related words in other languages
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia