English
Siberia
Siberia may come from Latin Sibēria.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CESibēriauncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1591Siberia
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CESibēriauncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1591Siberia
Earliest quotation: 1591, Giles Fletcher[, Length: “The other countries or prouinces which the Ruſſe Emperours…”
The story
Adopted in the 16th century, probably via Latin Sibēria, from Russian Сиби́рь (Sibírʹ) + -ia. In origin the Tatar name of a 14th-century fortress at Qashliq (Tobolsk) which became the capital of the 16th-century Khanate of Sibir, in 16th century Russian usage extended to the entire area of what is now Tyumen Oblast, and with the ongoing Russian conquest of Siberia by the 19th century to the larger area of Russia's Asian territories beyond the Ob River. The figurative sense in English arises in the 19th century (attested in 1841 according to the OED).
Every English word from Latin Sibēria
Today it means
name The region of Russia in Asia, stretching from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin Sibēria / Siberia