English
Montevideo
Montevideo comes from Portuguese monte ‘hill’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stand out, to tower’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-‘to stand out, to tower’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*móntisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*montsreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonsas montem‘hill’
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500monte‘hill’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘hill’
- Englishearliest quotation 2021Montevideo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-‘to stand out, to tower’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*móntisreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*montsreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmonsas montem‘hill’
- Old Galician-Portuguesec. 1100–1500monte‘hill’
- Portuguesec. 1500–presentsame form‘hill’
- Englishearliest quotation 2021Montevideo
Earliest quotation: 2021, Damon Albarn, The Tower of Montevideo: “The Tower of Montevideo has many rooms / Some…”
The story
There is general agreement that the first two syllables come from Spanish or Portuguese monte (‘hill’), in reference to the prominent hill to the west of the city. Two of the most popular stories are that the name comes from a reading of the abbreviated MONTE-VI-D-E-O ("sixth hill from east to west"), or that it comes from a Portuguese sailor's shout of "Monte vide eu".
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to stand out, to tower’
music, mind, money, remain, comment, museum, mental, mouth, auto, mountain, permanent, min, mention, monitor, monster, maya, monetary, mentor, mint, demonstration, amnesty, muse, menace, ming, prominence, monk, mas, imminent, mandarin, dementia, monument, mania, mosaic, eminent, amnesia, mantra, manic, muster, monastery, eminence, 123 more
through Proto-Italic *monts
through Latin mons ‘hill’
Today it means
name The capital city of Uruguay.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *men- / Montevideo