Where does “Centroamérica” come from?
Centroamérica (Galician) comes from Galician América, from New Latin America, from Italian Amerigo, from Proto-Germanic *Amalarīks, from Proto-Germanic Haimarīks, from Proto-Germanic rīks, from Proto-Celtic rīxs, from Proto-Indo-European h₃rḗǵs — to straighten, to right oneself; right; just.
Ancestry of “Centroamérica”, step by step
Centroamérica traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Galician América
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galician | América | — |
| 2 | New Latin | America | — |
| 3 | Italian | Amerigo | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *Amalarīks | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | Haimarīks | Henry |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | rīks | king, ruler |
| 7 | Proto-Celtic | rīxs | king |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃rḗǵs | king, ruler |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃reǵ- | to straighten, to right oneself; right; just |