Meanings
silesia1
plural silesias
- countableuncountableSilesian textile made of flax or cotton.
"Say I can't dress a window, you thundering old Humbug," he said, and hurled the huckaback at his master. He followed this up by pitching first a blanket, then an armful of silesia, then a window support out of the window into the shop.
1910, H G Wells, The History of Mr Polly, page 27
Silesia2
- A cultural region of Central Europe, now chiefly in Poland, with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany, from early modernity until 1945 predominantly German-speaking with Slavic-speaking minorities (and local majorities).
Origin
silesia · noun
- Late LatinSilesia
- EnglishSilesia
- Englishsilesia
From Silesia.
Full word history & related roots →Silesia · proper noun
- Ancient GreekΣιλίγγαι (Silíngai)
- LatinSilingaeder.?
- Old PolishŚlęża
- Old PolishŚlęzader.?
- Old Polishśląg /ślęgder.?
- Late LatinSilesia
- EnglishSilesia
Uncertain. Two theories are prominent: a relation to the Germanic Silingi tribe, whose name is attested in Ancient Greek Σιλίγγαι (Silíngai). Or, from Old Polish ślęg, śląg meaning "dampness, humidity, moisture." More at Ślęża and Silesia.
More words from Old Polish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سِيلِيزْيَا
- سِيلِيزْيَا (silīzyā)region
Basque Silesia
- Silesiaregion
Bulgarian Силе́зия
- Силе́зия (Silézija)region
Catalan Silèsia
- Silèsiaregion
Chinese Mandarin 西里西亞 /西里西亚
- 西里西亞 /西里西亚 (Xīlǐxīyà)region
Czech Slezsko
- Slezskoregion
Danish Schlesien
- Schlesienregion
Dutch Silezië
- Sileziëregion
Esperanto Silezio
- Silezioregion
Estonian Sileesia
- Sileesiaregion
Finnish Sleesia
- Sleesiaregion
French Silésie
- Silésieregion
German Schlesien
- Schlesienregion
Greek Σιλεσία
- Σιλεσία (Silesía)region
Hebrew שלזיה
- שלזיהregion
Hindi साइलीशिया
- साइलीशिया (sāilīśiyā)region
Hungarian Szilézia
- Sziléziaregion
Icelandic Slésía
- Slésíaregion
Irish an tSiléis
- an tSiléisregion
Italian Slesia
- Slesiaregion
Japanese シレジア
- シレジア (Shirejia)region
Korean 슐롱스크, 실레지아
- 슐롱스크 (Syullongseukeu)region
- 실레지아 (Sillejia)region
Latin Silesia
- Silesiaregion
Latvian Silēzija
- Silēzijaregion
Lithuanian Silezija
- Silezijaregion
Norwegian Bokmål Schlesien
- Schlesienregion
Polish Śląsk
- Śląskregion
Portuguese Silésia
- Silésiaregion
Romanian Silezia
- Sileziaregion
Russian Силе́зия
- Силе́зия (Silézija)region
Slovak Sliezsko
- Sliezskoregion
Spanish Silesia
- Silesiaregion
Swedish Schlesien
- Schlesienregion
Turkish Silezya
- Silezyaregion
Ukrainian Сілезія
- Сілезія (Silezija)region
Yiddish שלעסינג
- שלעסינג (shlesing)region
Cite this entry
silesia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silesia
“silesia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silesia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “silesia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/silesia.
Source: silesia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.