Where does “America” come from?
America derives from Latin Americus, which comes from Italian Enrico, ultimately from Old High German Haimirich, combining haimaz and rihhi, tracing to Proto-Indo-European kōim-.
Ancestry of “America”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Latin | America | — |
| 2 | Italian | Amerigo | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | *Amalarīks | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | Haimarīks | Henry |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | rīks | king, ruler |
| 6 | Proto-Celtic | rīxs | king |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃rḗǵs | king, ruler |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃reǵ- | to straighten, to right oneself; right; just |
Words derived from “America”