Editing Riga (section)

== Etymology ==
The precise origin of the name is unknown; however, there are numerous and speculative theories for the origin of the name ''Riga'':

* It is an adapted word, borrowing from the [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] ''ringą'' ('ring'), which refers to the looping shape of the ancient natural harbor formed by the tributary loop of the [[Daugava|Daugava River]].<ref name="CEROI">{{cite web|url=http://www.ceroi.net/reports/riga/latviski/pamatlietas/teritorija.htm|title=Teritorija un administratīvās robežas vēsturiskā skatījumā|publisher=Cities Environmental Reports on the Internet|language=lv|access-date=2 August 2007|archive-date=13 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813035658/http://ceroi.net/reports/riga/latviski/pamatlietas/teritorija.htm}}</ref><ref name="BCelts">{{cite web|url= http://www.liis.lv/latval/Valoda/Teksts/1nodalja/Citati/10.htm|title= Endzelīns, Did Celts Inhabit the Baltics (1911 Dzimtene's Vēstnesis (''Homeland Messenger'') No. 227)|publisher= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209024956/http://www.liis.lv/latval/Valoda/Teksts/1nodalja/Citati/10.htm |archive-date=9 December 2008|access-date= 24 July 2009}}</ref>
* It could be derived from Riege, the German name for the River Rīdzene, a former tributary of the Daugava.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riga.lv/EN/Channels/About_Riga/History_of_Riga/Stories/Udeni/Ridzina.htm |title=Riga municipality portal |website=riga.lv |access-date=10 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223130131/http://www.riga.lv/EN/Channels/About_Riga/History_of_Riga/Stories/Udeni/Ridzina.htm |archive-date=23 February 2012}}</ref>
* [[Albert of Riga|Bishop Albert]] claimed credit from his campaign to conquer and convert the local populace, as coming from the Latin {{Lang|la|rigata}} ("irrigated"), symbolising an "irrigation of dry pagan souls by Christianity".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.riga.lv/EN/Channels/About_Riga/History_of_Riga/Stories/Udeni/Ridzina.htm |title=Coat of arms of Riga|website=riga.lv |access-date=26 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711114153/http://www.ngw.nl/int/lat/riga.htm|archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref>

However, the most reliably documented explanation is the affirmation by German historian Dionysius Fabricius (1610) that Riga's name comes from its already established role in trade:<ref>Vauchez et al. ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages''. Routledge, 2001</ref> "Riga obtained its name from the buildings or warehouses found in great number along the banks of the Duna, which the Livs in their own language are accustomed to call Riae".<ref>Fabrius, D. Livonicae Historiae Compendiosa Series, 1610</ref>{{Efn|Latin original: "{{lang|la|Riga nomen sortita est suum ab aedificiis vel horreis quorum a litus Dunae magna fuit copia, quas livones sua lingua Rias vocare soliti|italic=no}}".}} The "j" in Latvian {{Lang|lv|rīja}} hardened to a "g" in German. English geographer [[Richard Hakluyt]] (1589) corroborates this account, calling Riga as ''Rie'', as pronounced in Old Latvian.<ref>Bilmanis, A. ''Latvia as an Independent State''. Latvian Legation. 1947.</ref> This is further supported by the fact that Riga is called ''Riia'' in Estonian (a language closely related to [[Livonian language|Livonian]]).