Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “scandinavia” come from?

scandinavia (English) comes from Latin Scandināvia, from Proto-Germanic *Skadinawjō, from Proto-Germanic awjō, from Proto-Germanic agwjō, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ — water.

Ancestry of “scandinavia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinScandināvia—
2Proto-Germanic*Skadinawjō—
3Proto-Germanicawjōfloodplain; meadow; island
4Proto-Germanicagwjō—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ékʷeh₂water
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ékʷeh₂ →