Where does “İstanbul” come from?
İstanbul (Turkish) comes from Byzantine Greek πόλις, from Proto-Hellenic ptólis, from Proto-Indo-European tpólHis, from Proto-Indo-European tpelH- — fortification, city.
İstanbul (Turkish): Istanbul
Definitions
- Istanbul
Ancestry of “İstanbul”, step by step
İstanbul traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Byzantine Greek πόλις
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Byzantine Greek | πόλις | in the City; city; a whole country, as dependent... |
| 2 | Proto-Hellenic | ptólis | city |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | tpólHis | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | tpelH- | fortification, city |
via Ottoman Turkish استانبول
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottoman Turkish | استانبول | — |
| 2 | Greek | εἰς τὴν Πόλιν | — |