Editing Tartu (section)

==Names and etymology<span class="anchor" id="Names and etymology"></span>==
{{see also|Names of Tartu in different languages}}
It is thought that the name derives from the word for [[aurochs]], ''tarvas''.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.54013/kk762a4 |title=Kas linnuse rajajalt või tarvalt? Veel kord Tartu nime päritolust |date=2021 |last1=Ernits |first1=Enn |journal=Keel ja Kirjandus |volume=64 |issue=6 |pages=532–546 }}</ref> Since [[Estonia]] became an independent country in 1918, the Estonian-language ''Tartu'' ({{IPA|et|ˈtɑrtˑu}}), alternative [[South Estonian]] spelling: ''Tarto'') has been the only name in official use but throughout its history there have also been various names for it in other languages. Most of them derive ultimately from the earliest attested form, the Estonian ''Tarbatu''. In German, [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Polish language|Polish]] the town has been known, and up until the 20th century was sometimes referred to, as {{Audio|De-Dorpat.ogg|'''Dorpat'''}}, a variant of ''Tarbatu''. In Russian the city has been known as {{lang|ru|Юрьев}} (''Yur′yev'', after [[Yury|Yuri]], the [[baptismal name]] of grand prince [[Yaroslav I the Wise]]) and as {{lang|ru|Дерпт}} (''Derpt'', from the [[Low German]] variant of ''Dorpat''). Similarly the city has been known as ''Tērbata'' in [[Latvian language|Latvian]], and [[Finnish language|Finnish]] speakers use the toponym ''Tartto''.
Tartu lies on the Emajõgi River, whose name literally means 'mother river' in Estonian. In Latvian, the name of [[Emajõgi]] river is [[Mētra]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mētra {{!}} Tēzaurs |url=https://tezaurs.lv/M%C4%93tra:1 |access-date=14 September 2024 |website=tezaurs.lv }}</ref> Therefore, Tartu's historical unofficial name in [[Latvian mythology|Latvian]] is Mētraine.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mētraine {{!}} Tēzaurs |url=https://tezaurs.lv/M%C4%93traine |access-date=14 September 2024 |website=tezaurs.lv }}</ref> Historically, Tartu was the main center for Latvian academic education, which is the reason why the name of the city used to be Latvianized.