Lettish

Lettish is an English historical term used to refer to the Latvian language and, by extension, to the Latvian people. It was common in early modern and 18th–19th century sources, appearing as Lettish, Lettisch, or Lettish language in German and English texts. The term derives from ethnonyms such as Letts or Lett for Latvians. In contemporary usage, the language is called Latvian (Latviešu valoda) and the people are identified as Latvians; Lettish is now largely archaic and typically encountered in historical or archival contexts.

Lettish, or Latvian, belongs to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is one of the two primary living Baltic languages, the other being Lithuanian, with Latvian traditionally written using the Latin script. Modern Latvian standard forms are based on central Latvian dialects, while Latgalian is sometimes treated as a separate language by scholars. The language is characterized by a rich system of noun inflections and verb conjugations, and it uses a range of grammatical cases and syntax that distinguish it from neighboring languages.

Historically, the term Lettish appears in ethnographic and linguistic writings from the early modern period, especially in descriptions produced during periods of Baltic cultural exchange and national awakening. As Latvia developed its national language movements in the 19th and 20th centuries, the term fell out of official and scholarly use in favor of Latvian. Nevertheless, Lettish remains a part of historical discussions in linguistics and in translations of older texts where the term appears.