Editing Lake Balaton (section)

==Name==
In distinction to all other [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] endonyms for lakes, which universally bear the suffix ''-tó'' 'lake', Lake Balaton is referred to in Hungarian with a definite article; that is, ''a Balaton'' 'the Balaton'. It was called ''lacus Pelsodis'' or ''Pelso'' by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDIOAQAAMAAJ&q=Lacus+Pelso |title=Brill's New Pauly: encyclopaedia of the ancient world - Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, David E. Orton - Google Knihy |date= 2007-04-15|access-date=January 2, 2014|isbn=9789004142152 |last1=Cancik |first1=Hubert |last2=Schneider |first2=Helmuth |last3=Orton |first3=David E. |publisher=Brill }}</ref> The name is [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] in origin, derived from [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] *''bolto'' (Czech ''bláto'', Slovak ''blato'', Polish ''błoto''), meaning 'mud, swamp' (from earlier [[Proto-Slavic]] ''boltьno'', cf. {{langx|sl|Blatno jezero}},<ref>https://translate.yandex.ru/?ysclid=m9wm6hrnnn447536205&source_lang=lv&target_lang=en&text=balta</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CqxpAAAAMAAJ&q=Blatno+jezero |title=Historical review - Google Knihy |date=2009-01-06 |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl81AQAAIAAJ&q=Blatno+jezero |title=A bulwark against Germany: the fight of the Slovenes, the western branch of ... - Bogumil Vošnjak, Fanny S. Copeland - Google Knihy |access-date=January 2, 2014|last1=Vošnjak |first1=Bogumil |last2=Copeland |first2=Fanny S. |year=1919 |publisher=Fleming H. Revell Company |isbn=9780598570208 }}</ref> {{langx|sk|Blatenské jazero}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zXE1AAAAMAAJ&q=Blatensk%C3%A9+jazero+balaton |title=Dejiny slovenského jazyka - Ján Stanislav - Google Knihy |access-date=January 2, 2014|last1=Stanislav |first1=Ján |year=1956 }}</ref>). 
 
In January 846, the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] prince [[Pribina]] began to build a fortress as his seat of power and several churches in the region of Lake Balaton, in the territory of modern [[Zalavár]] surrounded by forests and swamps along the [[Zala (river)|Zala River]].<ref name='Bartl 19'>Bartl 2002, p. 19.</ref><ref name='Róna-Tas 243'>Róna-Tas 1999, p. 243.</ref><ref name='Goldberg 85'>Goldberg 2006, p. 85.</ref> His well-fortified castle and capital of the [[Pannonian Slavs#Principality|Lower Pannonian Principality]] became known as ''Blatnohrad'' or ''Moosburg'' (literally, 'Swamp Fortress'), and it served as a bulwark against both the [[Bulgarians]] and the Moravians.<ref name='Bartl 19'/><ref name='Róna-Tas 243'/><ref name='Goldberg 85'/>

The [[German language|German]] name for the lake is ''{{lang|de|Plattensee}}''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weltweit-urlaub.de/ungarn/ |title=Urlaub in Ungarn - Ferienwohnung Ferienhaus am Plattensee in Ungarn |publisher=Weltweit-urlaub.de |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> It is unlikely it was given that name for being shallow because the adjective ''{{lang|de|platt}}'' is a Greek loanword that was borrowed via French and entered general German vocabulary in the 17th century.<ref>Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 24. Aufl., s. v.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.woerterbuchnetz.de/DWB/wbgui_py?bookref=13,1903,38 |title=the Grimm dictionary |publisher=Woerterbuchnetz.de |access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> It is also noteworthy that the average depth of Balaton ({{convert|3.2|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}})<ref>[http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/eur/eur-04.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716191213/http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/eur/eur-04.html|date=July 16, 2012}}</ref> is not extraordinary for the area (cf. the average depth of the neighbouring [[Neusiedler See]], which is roughly {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref>[http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/eur/eur-02.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515235102/http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/eur/eur-02.html|date=May 15, 2012}}</ref>