Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Liberia” come from?

Liberia derives from English -ia, Latin -ia, Ancient Greek -ία, and Proto-Indo-European roots lewbʰ- and h₁lewdʰ-, though the specific semantic development remains unclear.

Ancestry of “Liberia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinLīber—
2Old Latinloeber—
3Frenchloberto lob
4Frenchloblob
5EnglishlobTo throw or hit a ball into the air in a high...
6EnglishlongHaving much distance from one terminating point...
7EnglishlongitudeAngular distance measured west or east of the...
8Old Frenchlongitude—
9Latinlongitūdō—
10Latinlongusfar, long; extended, prolonged; long; tedious,...
11Latin-ē—
12Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
13Latincalceusshoe
14Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
15Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “Liberia”

  • Liberian
  • Libéria
  • 賴比瑞亞
  • 利比里亞
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →