Editing Thessaloniki (section)

==<span class="anchor" id="Names and etymology"></span><span class="anchor" id="Name"></span><span class="anchor" id="Etymology"></span><span class="anchor" id="Names"></span>Names and etymology==
{{see also|Names of Thessaloniki in different languages}}
[[File:Thessaloniki-ancient inscription.png|thumb|Inscription reading "To Queen [[Thessalonike of Macedon|Thessalonike]], (Daughter) of [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip]]", [[Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki]]]]

The original name of the city was {{lang|grc|Θεσσαλονίκη}} {{Lang|grc-Latn|Thessaloníkē|italic=yes}}. It was named after the princess [[Thessalonike of Macedon]], the half sister of [[Alexander the Great]], whose name means "Thessalian victory", from {{lang|grc|[[wikt:Θεσσαλός|Θεσσαλός]]}} Thessalos, and {{lang|grc |[[wikt:Νίκη|Νίκη]]}} 'victory' ([[Nike (mythology)|Nike]]), honoring the Macedonian victory at the [[Battle of Crocus Field]] (353/352&nbsp;BC).

Minor variants are also found, including {{lang|el|Θετταλονίκη}} {{Lang|el-Latn|Thettaloníkē}},<ref>''[[Inscriptiones Graecae]]'', X 2. 1 ''Thessalonica et vicinia'', p. 19</ref><ref>Πολυβίου Ιστοριών τα σωζόμενα, Editore Ambrosio Firmin Didot, Parisiis, MDCCCXXXIX σελ. 679</ref> {{lang|el|Θεσσαλονίκεια}} {{Lang|el-Latn|Thessaloníkeia}},<ref>{{cite book |last=[[Strabo]] |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=7:chapter=7 |title=Geographica |volume=7 |chapter=7 |access-date=21 February 2021 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308011842/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0198:book=7:chapter=7 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{lang|el|Θεσσαλονείκη}} {{Lang|el-Latn|Thessaloneíkē}}, and {{lang|el|Θεσσαλονικέων}} {{Lang|el-Latn|Thessalonikéon}}.<ref>''[[Inscriptiones Graecae]]'', Χ 2.1 Thessalonica et vicinia – 19, 24, 150, 162, 165, 167, 177–179, 181, 199, 200, 207, 231–233, 283, 838, 1021, 1026, 1028, 1031, 1034, 1035</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Ioannis Touratsoglou |title=Die Münzstätte von Thessaloniki in der römischen Kaiserzeit |language=de |location=Berlin |publisher=[[De Gruyter|Verlag Walter de Gruyter]] |year=1988 |pages=115–16}}</ref>

The name {{lang|el|Σαλονίκη}} {{Lang|el-Latn|Saloníki}} is first attested in Greek in the [[Chronicle of the Morea]] (14th century), and is common in [[folk song]]s, but it must have originated earlier, as [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|al-Idrisi]] called it ''Salunik'' already in the 12th century. It is the basis for the city's name in other languages: {{lang|cu|Солѹнъ}} (''Solunŭ'') in [[Old Church Slavonic]], {{lang|lad|סאלוניקו}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cover |url=https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/p16786coll3/id/3595/rec/5 |access-date=8 March 2022 |website=Digital collections |publisher=U. Washington |archive-date=31 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731162936/https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/p16786coll3/id/3595/rec/5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Details – Kima |url=https://geo-kima.org/Places/Details?id=103 |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=geo-kima.org |archive-date=25 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125082924/https://geo-kima.org/Places/Details?id=103 |url-status=dead}}</ref> ({{Lang|lad-Latn|Saloniko}}) in [[Judaeo-Spanish|Judeo-Spanish]] (שאלוניקי prior to the 19th century<ref name=":0" />) {{lang|he|סלוניקי}} ({{Lang|lad-Latn|Saloniki}}) in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], ''Selanik'' in [[Albanian language|Albanian]], {{lang|ota|سلانیك}} (''Selânik'') in [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]] and {{Lang|tr|Selanik}} in [[Turkish language|modern Turkish]], {{lang|it|Salonicco}} in [[Italian language|Italian]], ''Solun'' or {{lang|mk|Солун}} in the [[Slavic speakers of Greek Macedonia|local]] and neighboring [[South Slavic languages]], {{lang|ru|Салоники}} (''Saloníki'') in [[Russian language|Russian]], {{lang|rup|Sãrunã}} in [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]]<ref>Α.Ι. Θαβώρης (Antonios Thavoris), "Θεσσαλονίκη – Σαλονίκη. Η ιστορία του ονόματος της πόλης" (Thessaloniki-Saloniki: The history of the name of the city), "Η Θεσσαλονίκη" (''Thessaloniki''), Κέντρο Ιστορίας Θεσσαλονίκης (Centre for the History of Thessaloniki), Δήμος Θεσσαλονίκης (City of Thessaloniki), 1985, p. 5-21.</ref> and {{lang|ruq|Săruna}} in [[Megleno-Romanian language|Megleno-Romanian]].<ref>[https://www.oeaw.ac.at/fileadmin/kommissionen/vanishinglanguages/Collections/Meglen_Vlach/Bibliography_pdfs/Lozovanu_Dorin_2012_-_Meglenoromanii.pdf MEGLENOROMÂNII–ASPECTE ISTORICE, GEOGRAFICE, ETNOIDENTITARE ȘI ETNODEMOGRAFICE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123213709/https://www.oeaw.ac.at/fileadmin/kommissionen/vanishinglanguages/Collections/Meglen_Vlach/Bibliography_pdfs/Lozovanu_Dorin_2012_-_Meglenoromanii.pdf |date=23 January 2023 }}. p. 328.</ref>

In English, the city can be called Thessaloniki, Salonika, Thessalonica, Salonica, Thessalonika, Saloniki, Thessalonike, or Thessalonice. In printed texts, the most common name and spelling until the early 20th century was Thessalonica, matching the Latin name; through most of rest of the 20th century, it was Salonika. By about 1985, the most common single name became Thessaloniki.<ref>Google nGrams [https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Saloniki%2CThessaloniki%2CThessalonica%2CThessalonika%2CSalonica%2CSalonika%2CThessalonike%2CSalonike%2CThessalonice&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CSaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonice%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2CSaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonice%3B%2Cc0 graph] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315023017/https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Saloniki%2CThessaloniki%2CThessalonica%2CThessalonika%2CSalonica%2CSalonika%2CThessalonike%2CSalonike%2CThessalonice&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CSaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonice%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2CSaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessaloniki%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonica%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonika%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CSalonike%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CThessalonice%3B%2Cc0 |date=15 March 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Thessaloniki%2BThessalonica%2BThessalonika%2BThessalonike%2BThessalonice%2CSaloniki%2BSalonica%2BSalonika%2BSalonike%2BSalonice&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2C%28Thessaloniki%20%2B%20Thessalonica%20%2B%20Thessalonika%20%2B%20Thessalonike%20%2B%20Thessalonice%29%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C%28Saloniki%20%2B%20Salonica%20%2B%20Salonika%20%2B%20Salonike%20%2B%20Salonice%29%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2C(Thessaloniki%20%2B%20Thessalonica%20%2B%20Thessalonika%20%2B%20Thessalonike%20%2B%20Thessalonice)%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C(Saloniki%20%2B%20Salonica%20%2B%20Salonika%20%2B%20Salonike%20%2B%20Salonice)%3B%2Cc0 |title=Google nGrams |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-date=15 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315023018/https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Thessaloniki%2BThessalonica%2BThessalonika%2BThessalonike%2BThessalonice%2CSaloniki%2BSalonica%2BSalonika%2BSalonike%2BSalonice&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2C%28Thessaloniki%20%2B%20Thessalonica%20%2B%20Thessalonika%20%2B%20Thessalonike%20%2B%20Thessalonice%29%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C%28Saloniki%20%2B%20Salonica%20%2B%20Salonika%20%2B%20Salonike%20%2B%20Salonice%29%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2C(Thessaloniki%20%2B%20Thessalonica%20%2B%20Thessalonika%20%2B%20Thessalonike%20%2B%20Thessalonice)%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C(Saloniki%20%2B%20Salonica%20%2B%20Salonika%20%2B%20Salonike%20%2B%20Salonice)%3B%2Cc0 |url-status=live }}</ref> The forms with the Latin ending ''-a'' taken together remain more common than those with the phonetic Greek ending ''-i'' and much more common than the ancient transliteration ''-e''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Saloniki%2BThessaloniki%2CThessalonica%2BThessalonika%2BSalonica%2BSalonika%2CSalonike%2BThessalonike%2BThessalonice%2BSalonice&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2C%28Saloniki%20%2B%20Thessaloniki%29%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C%28Thessalonica%20%2B%20Thessalonika%20%2B%20Salonica%20%2B%20Salonika%29%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C%28Salonike%20%2B%20Thessalonike%20%2B%20Thessalonice%20%2B%20Salonice%29%3B%2Cc0 |title=Google nGrams |access-date=7 June 2020 |archive-date=15 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315023032/https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Saloniki%2BThessaloniki%2CThessalonica%2BThessalonika%2BSalonica%2BSalonika%2CSalonike%2BThessalonike%2BThessalonice%2BSalonice&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=10&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2C%28Saloniki%20%2B%20Thessaloniki%29%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C%28Thessalonica%20%2B%20Thessalonika%20%2B%20Salonica%20%2B%20Salonika%29%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2C%28Salonike%20%2B%20Thessalonike%20%2B%20Thessalonice%20%2B%20Salonice%29%3B%2Cc0 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Thessaloniki was revived as the city's official name in 1912, when it joined the [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Kingdom of Greece]] during the [[Balkan Wars]].<ref>{{harvnb|Mazower|2004|p=18}}</ref> In local speech, the city's name is typically pronounced with a dark and deep ''[[Velarized alveolar lateral approximant|L]]'', characteristic of the accent of the modern [[Varieties of Modern Greek#Modern varieties|Macedonian dialect]] of [[Greek language|Greek]].<ref>
{{cite book |last=Ανδριώτης (Andriotis) |first=Νικόλαος Π. (Nikolaos P.) |year=1995 |title=Ιστορία της ελληνικής γλώσσας: (τέσσερις μελέτες) (History of the Greek language: four studies) |publisher=Ίδρυμα Τριανταφυλλίδη |location=Θεσσαλονίκη (Thessaloniki) |isbn=960-231-058-8 |language=el}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Vitti |first=Mario |year=2001 |title=Storia della letteratura neogreca |publisher=Carocci |location=Roma |isbn=88-430-1680-6 |language=it}}</ref> The name is often abbreviated as {{lang|el|Θεσ/νίκη}}.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}