Etymology

Castile

Cas·tile
C3A1S1T1I1L1E1

Today it means: A medieval kingdom and former county in the Iberian Peninsula; the nucleus of modern Spain. Full definition →

Middle French Castilleder.? ← Spanish Castilla ← Old Spanish Castiella
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱes-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱstrom
  3. Proto-Italic*kastrom
  4. Latincastrum
  5. Latincastellum
  6. Latincastella
  7. LatinCastella
  8. Old SpanishCastiella
  9. SpanishCastilla
  10. Middle FrenchCastilleder.?
  11. English todayCastile

From (possibly through a Middle French form) Spanish Castilla from Old Spanish Castiella from Medieval Latin Castella from the plural of Latin castellum (“castle, fort, citadel”), diminutive of castrum (“fortress”); supposedly derived from the many castles constructed in the region.

Words from the same roots

Medieval LatinCastella all →

castellano

Latincastellum all →

cashelcastellumcastellologychâteau

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.