Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Australia” come from?

Australia derives from Latin terra australis incognita, from Latin auster meaning "south wind," from Proto-Indo-European h₂ews- meaning "to dawn" or "to burn."

Ancestry of “Australia”, step by step

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

Words derived from “Australia”

  • Australian
  • Oz
  • Ozzie
  • Australianness
  • Australiana
  • Australianist
  • Australianism
  • Australianise
  • Australianese
  • Australianization
  • Ozploitation
  • un-Australian
  • Australia Felix
  • Австра́лия
  • 澳大利亞
  • オーストラリア
  • Αυστραλία
  • Ô-xtrây-li-a
  • ఆస్ట్రేలియా
  • Australia
  • ဩစတြေးလျ
  • i-Ostreliya
  • Австралия
  • Австралия
Every word from Proto-Italic *austeros →