Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Pennsylvania” come from?

Pennsylvania derives from English sylvan, Latin -ia, Ancient Greek -ία, and Proto-Indo-European -h₂, ultimately forming a place name whose original sense is unknown.

Ancestry of “Pennsylvania”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-iaUsed in forming names of countries, diseases,...
2Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
3Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
4Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
5Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “Pennsylvania”

  • Pennsylvanian
  • Pennamite
  • Pensilvânia
  • Pennsylvania
  • पेन्सिलवेनिया
  • Pénsówéíniyah hahoodzo
  • Pennsilfaani
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →