Elbing vocabulary

The Elbing vocabulary, compiled around 1300, is the earliest written record of the Old Prussian language. Old Prussian was a West Baltic language spoken in East Prussia, now part of Poland and Russia, and became extinct in the 17th century. This language is closely related to Latvian and Lithuanian but preserved archaic features not found in East Baltic languages.12

The original Prussians, who spoke Old Prussian, were a Baltic-speaking people related to the Latvians and Lithuanians. They inhabited the region between the Vistula and Neman rivers. In the 13th century, the Teutonic Order conquered the Prussians and introduced German settlers, leading to the gradual Germanization of the region. While the Old Prussian language eventually died out, the Elbing vocabulary and 16th-century catechisms provide scholars with insights into this extinct language.312