3 ms·
Apparently it's most likely tied to the German municipality of Waake or the Swedish tribe of Vagoths. However most Lithuanians would likely explain it in the fo
by seminole 5y ago
Apparently it's most likely tied to the German municipality of Waake or the Swedish tribe of Vagoths. However most Lithuanians would likely explain it in the form of a joke - either about Germans being thieves ('vogti' = to steal) in reference to Teutonic/Livonic ordins, or about them being 'tough' or well armored ('vo kiets' ~= 'wow, tough/hard').
- kungito 5y agoAnother fun fact: at least in Croatia, we colloquially call them "schwabs" which originates from another group of germanic people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suebi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suebi
- shimonabi 5y agoCan confirm (as a Slovenian), the term is used through the Balkans. For example, it is present in the old Serbian song: Četrnaeste, četrnaeste, Švaba udario, (2x) Osamnaeste, osamnaeste, Srbin pobedio. (2x) (In the 14th year, the Schwab struck. In the 18th year, the Serb won.) https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_to_ka%C5%BEe,_Srbija_je_mala https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_to_ka%C5%BEe,_Srbija_je_mal... It comes from the fact that Germany didn't unify until very late, so the people were called by the small city-states that they came from. In American revolutionary war, some British mercenaries were called Hessians....