What's in a Prague street name

Mendíků was built in 1906.

Let’s start this one in Latin, where a ‘menda’ is a defect, a blemish or an error. Meaning I’ve just worked out where ‘amend’ comes from.

This, in turn, gives us ‘mendīcus’, a beggar. This is the source of the most common words for ‘beggar’ in Italian (mendicante), Portuguese (mendigo) and Spanish (mendigo). And, of course, the English ‘mendicant’.

In Czech, a ‘mendík’ specifically referred to a poor student – who would try to make money not only by begging, but also through tutoring, performing menial tasks, or collecting alms.

And this reminds us, once again, that Michle was once owned by Prague University, and proceeds from it were used to fund students who might not have had that opportunity otherwise (https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2026/10/11/prague-4-day-469-michelska/).

Until 1947, the road was called Smetanova, after Bedřich Smetana, discussed in detail on https://whatsinapraguestreetname.com/2024/09/30/prague-1-day-156-smetanovo-nabrezi-smetana-embankment/.