Page "Occitania" Paragraph 4

Under later Roman rule ( after 355 ), most of Occitania was known as Aquitania, itself part of the Seven Provinces with a wider Provence, while the northern provinces of what is now France were called Gallia ( Gaul ).

Gallia Aquitania ( or Aquitanica ) is thus also a name used since medieval times for Occitania ( i. e. Limousin, Auvergne, Languedoc and Gascony ), including Provence as well in the early 6th century.

Thus the historic Duchy of Aquitaine must not be confused with the modern French region called Aquitaine: this is the main reason why the term Occitania was revived in the mid-19th century.

The names " Occitania " and " Occitan language " ( Occitana lingua ) appeared in Latin texts from as early as 1242-1254 to 1290 and during the following years of the early 14th century ; texts exist in which the area is referred to indirectly as " the country of the Occitan language " ( Patria Linguae Occitanae ).

This derives from the name Lenga d ' òc that was used in Italian ( Lingua d ' òc ) by Dante in the late 13th century.

The somewhat uncommon ending of the term Occitania is most probably a portmanteau French clerks coined from òc and Aquitània, thus blending the language and the land in just one concept.

Occitan and Lenga d ' òc both refer to the centuries-old set of Romance dialects that use òc for " yes ".