Словен

• (Ijekavian) Сло̀вје̄н
• (archaic, Ikavian) Сло̀вӣн
• (Bosnia, Croatia, dated Serbian) Сла̀ве̄н

From Proto-Slavic *slověninъ.

• IPA^(key): /slǒʋeːn/
• Hyphenation: Сло‧вен

Сло̀ве̄н m (Latin spelling Slòvēn)

1. (now chiefly Serbia, Ekavian) Slav

Until the 18th century, the form of this word with -o- in the first syllable was almost universal throughout the Serbo-Croatian-speaking area (with varying reflexes of yat). The form with -a- seems to have originated in Slavonic-Serbian and spread under the influence of Pan-Slavism during the 19th century. By the 20th century, the form with -a- became the most common form in Croatia and all but disappeared from Serbia, effectively reversing the early 19th-century distribution of the two forms.