Editing Wallonia (section)

== Terminology ==
The term "Wallonia" can mean slightly different things in different contexts. One of the three [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|federal regions of Belgium]] is still constitutionally defined as the "Walloon Region" as opposed to "Wallonia", but the latter has been adopted by the regional government and is in common use.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wallonie.be/fr/acteurs-et-institutions/wallonie/gouvernement-de-wallonie|title=Gouvernement de Wallonie|website=Wallonie.be|access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref><ref>For example, the [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/belgium/ CIA World Factbook] states Wallonia is the short form and Walloon Region is the long form. The [http://www.investinwallonia.be/ofi-belgium/investir-en-wallonie/histoire-et-institutions/index.php Invest in Wallonia website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908155837/http://www.investinwallonia.be/ofi-belgium/investir-en-wallonie/histoire-et-institutions/index.php |date=2009-09-08 }} and the [http://invest.belgium.be/en/wallonia-welcomes-your-business Belgian federal government] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221212715/http://invest.belgium.be/en/wallonia-welcomes-your-business |date=2009-02-21 }} use the term ''Wallonia'' when referring to the Walloon Region.</ref> Prior to 2010, when the renaming came into effect, ''Wallonia'' could sometimes refer to the territory governed by the Walloon Region, whereas ''Walloon Region'' referred specifically to the government. In practice, the difference between the two terms is small and what is meant is usually clear, based on context.

''Wallonia'' is a cognate of terms such as [[Wales]], Cornwall and [[Wallachia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Walloon |website=Etymonline.com|title=Walloon}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/welsh|title=Welsh &#124; Etymology, origin and meaning of the name Welsh by etymonline|website=Etymonline.com|access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref><ref>(French) Albert Henry, Histoire des mots Wallons et Wallonie, {{ill|Institut Jules Destrée|fr}}, Coll. «Notre histoire», Mont-sur-Marchienne, 1990, 3rd ed. (1st ed. 1965), foodnote 13 p. 86.</ref> The [[Germanic language|Germanic]] word [[Walha]], meaning ''the strangers'', referred to Gallic or Celtic people. Wallonia is named after the [[Walloons]], a group of locals who natively speak [[Romance languages]]. In [[Middle Dutch]] (and French), the term ''Walloons'' included both historical secular Walloon principalities, as well as the French-speaking population of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]]<ref>Footnote: In medieval French, the word ''Liégeois'' referred to all the inhabitants of the Principality vis-à-vis the other inhabitants of the Low Countries, the word ''Walloon'' being applied specifically to the French-speaking inhabitants vis-à-vis the other inhabitants of the Principality. {{Cite book
  | last = Stengers
  | first = Jean
  | author-link = Jean Stengers
  | contribution = Depuis quand les Liégeois sont-ils des Wallons?
  | year = 1991
  | title = Hommages à la Wallonie [mélanges offerts à Maurice Arnould et Pierre Ruelle]
  | editor-last = Hasquin
  | editor-first = Hervé
  | editor-link = Hervé Hasquin
  | pages = 431–447
  | place = Brussels
  | publisher = éditions de l'[[Université libre de Bruxelles|ULB]]
  | language = fr
  }}</ref> or the whole population of the [[Romance languages|Romanic]] [[sprachraum]] within the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] [[Burgundian Netherlands|Low Countries]].