Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “atoll” come from?

Atoll comes from Malayalam അതൊലു, which derives from Persian آب‌تل, a term for a ring-shaped coral island or lagoon formation.

atoll (English): a type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that...

Definitions

  1. a type of island consisting of a ribbon reef that...

Ancestry of “atoll”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Portugueseatolatoll
2Dhivehiއަތޮޅުatoll
3Prakrit*𑀲𑀁𑀢𑀻𑀞—
4Sanskrit*संतीर्थ—

Words derived from “atoll”

  • atollo
  • atol
  • atoll
Every word from Sanskrit *संतीर्थ →