Bautzen

German Bautzen

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaʊtsən/

Bautzen

1. A town in Saxony, Germany.

• bezaunt

• Budissin (Latinate form, widely used until 19th c.)

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.

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

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

1. Bautzen (a town in Saxony, Germany)