structural:scholar_edition, structural:summarization
Etymology

The word Laos was coined by the French, who united the three Lao kingdoms in French Indochina in 1893. The name of the country is spelled the same as the plural of the dominant and most common ethnic group, the Lao people. In English, the "s" in the name of the country is pronounced, and not silent. In the Lao language, the country's name is Muang Lao (ເມືອງລາວ) or Pathet Lao (ປະເທດລາວ), both of which literally mean 'Lao Country'.