Aragon
/ˈærəɡɒn/
noun
Origin
Iberian/Basque
Aragoi — Possibility of 'high valley' or derived from river names
Overview
Meaning Now
- An autonomous community in northeastern Spain.
- A former medieval kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula.
Language path
Pre-Roman/Iberian → Latin → Old Spanish → English
Earliest form
Aragon
Earliest period
11th century
Journey
Aragon originated as a small county in the Pyrenees during the Reconquista. It expanded significantly to become the Kingdom of Aragon, eventually forming the Crown of Aragon, a major Mediterranean maritime power in the Middle Ages through its union with Catalonia and subsequent expansion into Italy and Greece.
Evolution
- Pre-Roman period
Aragoi
“River or geographic designation”
Proposed substrate origin.
- Latin (11th century)
Aragonia
“The region surrounding the Aragon river”
Latinized form for administrative use.
- Old Spanish
Aragón
“The Kingdom of Aragon”
Shift to the vernacular.
- Middle English
Aragon
“The kingdom”
Adopted from Old Spanish/Old French.
Connections
Word parts
Aragon
root
Geographic proper noun
Related across languages
Spanish
Aragón
The region/kingdom of Aragon
Aragonese
Aragón
The region/kingdom of Aragon
Catalan
Aragó
The region/kingdom of Aragon
Explore next
Related to Aragon
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.