Where does “Chile” come from?
Chile (Spanish) comes from Quechua chiri, from Mapudungun chilli — where the land ends; seagull Larus dominicanus.
Chile (Spanish): a chili pepper
Definitions
- a chili pepper
Ancestry of “Chile”, step by step
Chile traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Quechua chiri
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quechua | chiri | cold; frost, cold; a "cold" temperature or... |
| 2 | Mapudungun | chilli | where the land ends; seagull Larus dominicanus |
via Quechua chili
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quechua | chili | the end of the world |