Where does “Europe” come from?
Europe derives from Ancient Greek Εὐρώπη, related to Ancient Greek εὐρύς meaning "wide," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₁wérus with the suffix -us.
Ancestry of “Europe”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Europe | — |
| 2 | Latin | Eurōpa | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Εὐρώπη | Europa; Europe |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ὤψ | to the eye; in the face; eye |
| 5 | Proto-Hellenic | ókʷs | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ókʷs | eye |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ekʷ- | to see; eye |
Words derived from “Europe”