Where does “Madeira” come from?

Madeira comes from Portuguese madeira, from Latin materia meaning "wood" or "matter," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr.

Madeira (English): A type of fortified wine produced on that island

Definitions

  1. A type of fortified wine produced on that island

Ancestry of “Madeira”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1PortugueseMadeiraEllipsis of vinho da Madeira
2Old Portuguesemadeira—
3Latinmāteriamatter; material; component stuff; substance
4Latinmātermother female parent
5Proto-Italicmātērmother
6Proto-Indo-Europeanméh₂tērmother
Every word from Proto-Indo-European méh₂tēr →Every word from Proto-Italic mātēr →Every word from Latin māter →