Where does “澳大利亞” come from?

澳大利亞 (Chinese) comes from English Australia, from Latin terra austrālis incōgnita, from Latin auster, from Proto-Italic *austeros.

Ancestry of “澳大利亞”, step by step

澳大利亞 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Australia

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishAustralia—
2Latinterra austrālis incōgnita—
3LatinausterThe south wind; south
4Proto-Italic*austeros—

via Dutch Australië

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1DutchAustralië—
2Latinaustralissouthern; Australian; the south pole
3Latin-ālis—
4Proto-Italic-ālisforms relational adjectives
Every word from Proto-Italic *austeros →Every word from Latin auster →Every word from Latin terra austrālis incōgnita →