Transylvania

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-der. Proto-Italic *trānts Medieval Latin trāns Medieval Latin trans- Medieval Latin silva Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Medieval Latin -nus Medieval Latin silvānus Medieval Latin -ia ▲ Old Hungarian Erdeuelucalq. Medieval Latin Trānsylvānialbor. English Transylvania Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin Trānsylvānia, alternative spelling of Trānssilvānia, from trāns (“across”) + silvānus (“forest”, relational adjective) + -ia (abstract noun suffix), i.e. “region across the forest”, a calque of Hungarian Erdély, from erdő (“forest”) + elv/elü (“region beyond”). By surface analysis, trans- + sylvan + -ia.