Where does “Algeria” come from?
Algeria comes from Arabic al-jazāʾir, the plural of jazīrah meaning "island," referring to the islands off the North African coast.
Ancestry of “Algeria”, step by step
Algeria traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Alger
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Alger | — |
| 2 | Middle English | Alger | A spear for catching eels |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | âelgêer | — |
| 4 | Middle Dutch | gêer | spear |
| 5 | Old Dutch | gēr | spear, pike, javelin |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | gaiʀ | spear |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | gaizaz | spear, pike, javelin |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰoysós | throwing spear |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰey- | winter |
via French Algérie
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | Algérie | — |
| 2 | French | -ie | indicates a feminine noun, often an abstract one |
| 3 | Middle French | -ie | indicates a feminine noun, often an abstract one |
| 4 | Old French | -ie | indicates a feminine noun, often an abstract one |
| 5 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |