Why is sweden called sverige

They have kept their own currency, the Swedish krona, as a way to keep their identity. Sweden prides itself on being a neutral country. Since the mids and during the two World Wars, Sweden remained neutral, not fighting for one side or the other.

People first came to Sweden about 10, years ago. For thousands of years, they were hunters and gatherers and in the first centuries A. The name Sweden comes from the warlike Svea tribe that became powerful around A. Swedes call their land Sverige, which means "land of the Svea.

The Svea began to make raids along the coasts of northern Europe and became known as Vikings, which means "pirate" in an old Norse language. Some Swedish Vikings often stole from the people they raided and settled in their lands. Others became rich by trading goods and slaves. Sweden elected kings until , when the parliament changed the rules.

The crown was then passed on to the king's descendents. King Gustav IV was forced to give up his throne when he and his allies lost Finland to Napoleon's allies in During its history, Sweden ruled both Finland and Norway. All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Funny Fill-In. Amazing Animals.

Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. In the fall and spring, there are spectacular natural light shows in northern Sweden known as the aurora borealis, or northern lights. Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Map created by National Geographic Maps. Watch "Destination World". It's 'Kingdom of the Swedes'. It derives from Old Swedish Swea rike , meaning just that.

Here's an entry from a Swedish etymological dictionary confirming it. Edit: looking into it a little more, apparently svea derives from a PIE root meaning 'one's own'. I suppose that could correlate with 'our', but PIE is a little further back than 2, years.

Thanks for your response! I wasn't sure if the article I found was reliable, which is why I created this discussion thread in the first place. You're right, it does come from "kingdom of the Swedes". However, there are two further things worth noting:. So even though it's ultimately from a PIE root, there is quite impressive evidence for the possibility that it did come from that. Wikipedia article. It would be nice to get a Swedish opinion on the subj. You are welcome. If you find more that is interesting, please post it.

UPD: Wow! The really fun thing about PIE leg- is that it's a prefix meaning 'to leak'. Healers used to bleed people in order to cure various diseases, so a healer is 'someone who makes you leak'. Sverige fr. The word must have meant "one's own tribesmen ".