Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Argentina” come from?

Argentina derives from Latin -inus, a suffix from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos, ultimately rooted in Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ- meaning to work or produce.

Ancestry of “Argentina”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinargentumsilver; a silver thing
2Proto-Italicargentomsilver
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂r̥ǵn̥tómsilver
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂erǵ-white, argent; glittering

Words derived from “Argentina”

  • Argentinian
  • Argie
  • Afro-Argentinian
  • Argentinianness
  • अर्जेंटीना
  • আৰ্জেন্টিনা
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂erǵ- →