# Lietava (Neris)

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**Lietava**, **Lietauka** or **Letauka**, is a [rivulet](/source/Rivulet) in [Lithuania](/source/Lithuania) that is believed to have given [Lithuania its name](/source/Name_of_Lithuania).[1] It is 11 km in length and flows into [Neris](/source/Neris) 30 km away from [Kernavė](/source/Kernav%C4%97), a possible first capital of the [Grand Duchy of Lithuania](/source/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania). It flows through a swampy region and no important archaeological findings have been discovered on its banks.[2] Since the stream flows in the lowlands and easily spills over its banks, most linguists agree that Lithuania's name (Lietuva) is related, and perhaps derived from Lithuanian verb *lieti* (to spill),[3] of the root derived from the Proto-Indo-European **leyǝ-*.[4]

Since many names in [Indo-European languages](/source/Indo-European_languages) are derived from [hydronyms](/source/Hydronym), scientists had been looking for a body of water matching the name of Lithuania, *Lietuva*. Kazys Kuzavinis identified Lietauka as a possible candidate and popularized the hypothesis.[3] The original name of Lietauka must have been *Lietava*. That name was later Slavicised by [Old Believers](/source/Old_Believers) expelled from the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire) and established on the banks of the river, as *Litavka*, and phonetically reversed to Lithuanian as *Lietauka* by local Lithuanians.

## See also

- [Rivers of Lithuania](/source/Rivers_of_Lithuania)

## References

1. ["Lithuania's name"](http://www3.lrs.lt/pls/inter/w5_show?p_r=4056&p_k=2&p_rp=N&p_dr=N&p_d=49322). [Office of the Seimas](/source/Seimas). Retrieved 2007-01-24.

1. Baranauskas, Tomas (February 2002). ["Prie Lietuvos vardo ištakų"](http://www.voruta.lt/article.php?article=81&showtype=archive) (in Lithuanian). *[Voruta](/source/Voruta_(newspaper))*. **4** (502). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070906001208/http://www.voruta.lt/article.php?article=81&showtype=archive) 2007-09-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-01-24.

1. Simas Sužiedėlis (ed.) (1970–1978). "Lietuva". *[Encyclopedia Lituanica](/source/Encyclopedia_Lituanica)*. Vol. III. Boston, Massachusetts: Juozas Kapočius. pp. 336–337. LCCN 74-114275.

1. [Indo-European Etymology](http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?single=1&basename=/data/ie/piet&text_number=++2322&root=config)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lietava (Neris)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lietava_(Neris)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lietava_(Neris)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.