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'Lietauka' or 'Letauka' is a small rivulet in Lithuania that is believed to have given Lithuania its name.^[1] It is 11 km in length and flows into Neris 30 km away from Kernavė, a possible first capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It flows through a swampy region and no important archaelogical findings have been discovered on its banks.^[2] Most linguists agree that Lithuania's name (Lietuva) is related and perhaps derived from Lithuanian verb ''lieti'' (to spil). Since many names in the Indo-European languages are derived from hydronyms, scientists were looking for a matching body of water. Kazys Kuzavinis identified Lietauka as a possible candidate and popularized the hypothesis. The original name of Lietauka must have been ''Lietava'', which was Slavicised by Old Believers expelled from the Russian Empire and established on the banks of the river, as ''Litavka'', and and phonetically reversed to Lithuanian as ''Lietauka'' by local Lithuanians.

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References

1. Lithuania's name
2. Prie Lietuvos vardo ištakų, , Tomas, Baranauskas, Voruta, 2002

See also

★ Name of Lithuania

★ Rivers of Lithuania