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
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | argentum | silver; a silver thing |
| 2 | Proto-Italic | argentom | silver |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂r̥ǵn̥tóm | silver |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂erǵ- | white, argent; glittering |