What's in a Prague street name

Originally published on X on 1 April 2023.

Dřevná was built in 1920.

Dřevná is the adjective deriving from dřevo, wood, and that noise you can hear right now is me realising I’ve already unwittingly written about this one, because the people of the district used to make a living by trading in wood: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/26/prague-2-day-121-na-vytoni/

And there were, inevitably, storage facilities for said wood: https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/08/27/prague-2-day-124-ladova/

That’s it. So let’s go down the wood-related vocabulary route instead.

A dřevokaz is an ambrosia beetle or woodworm, which leads to the adjective dřevokazný, wood-destroying.

A dřevoryt is a woodcut or a xylograph, the person who makes these is a dřevorytec, and the adjective describing their trade is dřevorytecký.

Meanwhile, if you manage to spát jako dřevo, you’ve slept like a log, and, if you pay for something na dřevo you’re paying cash down.

Finally, dřevěné uhlí is charcoal, and a dřívko is a little piece of wood. Or a splinter.