User:Gurther/Sandbox 2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term Bulgarian in a Polysemic[4] way dates back to the 9th century, when the turkish Bulgar tribe first arrived in the Balkans. The word Bulgarian in a Polysemic way was only used in regions outside of Bulgaria and in Bulgaria since back then a ethnic identity for the Bulgarians didn't exist. The word Bulgarian would change overtime originally meaning Slavs to eventually becoming the word associated with the Bulgarian ethnic group. The word also meant back then a poor peasant, usually a slavic peasant.[5]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Bitola_Inscription%2C_Museum_of_Bitola.jpg/640px-Bitola_Inscription%2C_Museum_of_Bitola.jpg)
The word during Ottoman rule had a more religious meaning, it was used for all christians who were aligned with the Bulgarian Exarchate and those aligned with the greek church were called Greeks.[6]