Deltuva

Deltuva is a small town in Ukmergė district, Vilnius County, Lithuania. It is located 6 km north-west of Ukmergė, near the road to Kėdainiai. It has about 500 inhabitants.

==Etymology== The etymology of the place name Deltuva remains uncertain, making it one of the most enigmatic in the Lithuanian language. Historical sources present conflicting information regarding the naming of the town of Deltuva. While it has been known in its current form since the 16th century, earlier references suggest that the root may have included the obsolete suffix "-velt-" (as seen in one of the spelling variants Dewilto[w]). Some Lithuanian linguists propose that the earliest form of the place name Deltuva was "Dėviltava", which they derive from the reconstructed personal name "Dėviltas". Conversely, there are several known toponymic analogies, as well as the fact that until the early 20th century, a person who lived in Deltuva was referred to as "deltuvis". The name Deltuva is of an ethnonymic origin when compared to the cluster ethnonyms (tribal names) of a similar structure and the regional names Lietuva, Dainava, and Karšuva, which are derived from them. Additionally, the Lithuanian surname Deltuva, Deltuvas, which is common in southern Lithuania (mainly in Sudovia), may also have originated from the ethnonym Deltuva.