horních

Horních is a Czech toponymic element derived from the adjective horní, meaning upper or top. It is used in geographic names to designate the upper part of a settlement, a higher position on terrain, or a related geographical feature. In Czech place names, forms of this element frequently appear in two-part names that distinguish an upper part from a lower part.

In Czech toponymy, horních commonly occurs in combinations that pair an upper locality with a lower one, the latter usually rendered with the word dolní meaning lower. This naming pattern reflects historical settlement and administrative divisions, where a single village or area developed into multiple parts positioned differently within the landscape. The form horních can appear as part of fixed toponyms or when the name is declined within a sentence in which the head noun is inflected.

Etymology traces horní to the Czech word for upper, itself derived from Proto-Slavic roots associated with high or mountain-related meaning. The element is closely related to the broader Slavic tradition of using ordinal topographic descriptors to distinguish neighboring parts of the same settlement or region.

See also: Horní, Dolní, toponymy, list of Czech place names.