Etymology

Côte d'Ivoire

Today it means: A country in West Africa. Full definition →

French Côte d'Ivoire ← Portuguese Costa do Marfim
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The story

  1. Portuguese · derived fromCosta do Marfim
  2. French · borrowed fromCôte d'Ivoire“Coast of Ivory”
  3. English todayCôte d'Ivoire

Unadapted borrowing from French Côte d'Ivoire (“Coast of Ivory”), from Portuguese Costa do Marfim, from the area's primary export to Europe during the Age of Exploration.

Words from the same roots

FrenchCôte d'Ivoire all →

Ivory Coast

PortugueseCosta do Marfim all →

Ivory Coast

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.