Where does “West Indies” come from?
West Indies (English) comes from English Indies, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός, from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, from Sanskrit सिन्धु, from Proto-Indo-Aryan síndʰuṣ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian síndʰuš.
West Indies (English): A Federation of Caribbean states which, together with Guyana, play Test matches as if they were a single nation
Definitions
- A Federation of Caribbean states which, together with Guyana, play Test matches as if they were a single nation
Ancestry of “West Indies”, step by step
West Indies traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Indies
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Indies | The East Indies, including India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and adjacent lands |
| 2 | Latin | India | — |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδία | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδός | an inhabitant of India or the Indian... |
| 5 | Old Persian | 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 | India; people living beyond the Indus |
| 6 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु | a river, stream; flood, waters; ocean, sea |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | síndʰuṣ | river, ocean; flow |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | síndʰuš | river, stream |
| 9 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु॑ | — |
via English West
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | West | Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie |
| 2 | Middle English | west | west; A location to the south; the south; The... |
| 3 | Old English | west | west |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *westr | western, westernly |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | westrą | west; west, westward |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | westraz | west, western |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wek(ʷ)speros | evening |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | we- | — |