Bohemians are inhabitants of Bohemia, Czech Republic.
- Bohemians is the term used to designate inhabitants of the former kingdom of Bohemia, located in the modern day Czech Republic. The name is derived from the Latin term for the Celtic tribe (Boii) inhabiting that area. Today, for the Czech speaker, the word Bohemian is still often synonymous with the word Czech, although its prevailing use tends to be in old-fashioned or poetic contexts, especially in light of the profound influence of the imported secondary meaning of the word (see below).In general, people refer to themselves as Czechs and not Bohemians for these reasons. The opposite situation is found in Moravia, where inhabitants often specifically designate themselves as Moravian rather than Czech. Another reason for 'Bohemian' falling out of normal use is that the term 'Czech' (éeský) was officially promoted between 1919-1938 and 1945-1993 in accordance with the concept of a united 'Czechoslovakia', created by the merging of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Slovakia.
- A secondary meaning for the term Bohemian emerged in early 19th century France. The term was used to describe a group of artists, writers, and disenchanted people of all sorts who wished to live a non-traditional lifestyle. See the article Bohemianism for more on this. In the 15th century, King Zikmund of Bohemia ejected all Roma from Bohemia; they fled to France, where they were sometimes called 'Bohemiens'.
In the 19th century, a few French writers renewed this name and Henri Murger used it in his books. It was W. M. Thackeray who first used this second meaning of the word in English.
- FC BOHEMIANS is a famous Prague football (soccer) club, founded in 1927. FC Bohemians (http://www.fc-bohemians.cz/)
- Bohemian FC is a Dublin football team founded in 1890. Bohemian FC homepage (http://www.bohemians.ie/)
See also Bohemian Rhapsody, a song by Queen.
zh:波西米亞人
