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Wenzel

Wenzel is a given name and surname used in German-speaking and Central European communities. It is the German form of the Czech name Václav, itself a form of Wenceslaus. The name is historically associated with Saint Wenceslaus, the 10th‑century Duke of Bohemia who is venerated as a Christian martyr and patron saint of Bohemia; the Latin form is Wenceslaus, and the English forms Wenceslas are sometimes used in traditional texts. The most famous reference in the English-speaking world is the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas, which retells a legend about the saint from that period.

Beyond historical figures, Wenzel remains a common surname in German-speaking countries and in the Czech Republic,

In science and engineering, the name Wenzel is associated with Wenzel's equation, a relation in surface science

Variants of the name appear in other languages as well, such as Wenceslao and Wenceslas, with the

often
passed
down
through
families.
that
describes
how
roughness
modifies
the
contact
angle
of
a
liquid
on
a
solid
surface.
The
equation
cos
θ*
=
r
cos
θ
uses
a
roughness
factor
r
and
is
used
in
discussions
of
wetting,
coating,
and
microfluidics.
root
tracing
back
to
a
Slavic
given
name.
The
precise
meaning
of
the
name
is
uncertain,
but
it
has
long
been
connected
with
historical
and
religious
figures
in
Central
Europe.