Where does “Veracruz” come from?
Veracruz comes from Spanish Veracruz, combining Spanish cruz from Latin crux, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots (s)ker-, sek-, and weh₁- related to cutting and turning.
Ancestry of “Veracruz”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Spanish | Veracruz | — |
| 2 | Spanish | Cruz | — |
| 3 | Portuguese | cruz | cross |
| 4 | Italian | croce | cross |
| 5 | Latin | crux | wooden frame on which criminals were crucified,... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *kruks | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱer- | to caw, crow |