The term
Galindians may be applied to two distinct, and now extinct, tribes of the
Balts. Most commonly, the term is used to describe the Western Galindians who lived in the southeast part of
Prussia. Less commonly, it is used for a tribe that lived in the area of what is today
Moscow.
The name "Galinda" is thought to derive from the Baltic word *galas ("the end"), alluding to the fact that they settled for some time further west and further east than any other Baltic tribe.
The Western Galindians (Old Prussian *Galindis, Latin Galindae) were at first a West Baltic tribe, and later the Old Prussian clan, which lived in Galindia, roughly the area of present-day Masuria but including territory further south in would become the Duchy of Masovia. It was adjacent to the territory of the Yotvingians, which is today in Podlaskie Voivodeship.
The name Galind- is probably derived from the hydromym of Gielądzkie Jezioro ( 53° 52' N 21° 10' E ) in the province of Olsztyn, in what was the very center of ancient Galindia. J. Nalepa (1971) suggested the root *gal- was originally a different ablaut grade of the same root found in Lith. "gilus" - deep, and "gelme" - depth. The original meaning referred to the depth of the lake mentioned, which is one of the deepest in the area.[1].
