Etymology

Hakodate

H4A1K5O1D2A1T1E1

Today it means: A port city in Oshima subprefecture, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Full definition →

Japanese 函館 ← Ainu ハㇰ チャシ
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The story

  1. Ainu · derived fromハㇰ チャシ
  2. Japanese · borrowed from函館
  3. English todayHakodate

Borrowed from Japanese 函館 (はこだて, Hakodate), in turn possibly borrowed from Ainu ハㇰ チャシ (hak casi), meaning "shallow fort".

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.