Etymology

Illyria

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Today it means: A vaguely-defined geographic region in Southeastern Europe in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, approximately coincident with modern Albania. Full definition →

Latin Illyria ← Ancient Greek Ἰλλυρία ← Illyrian *Hullurio
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*udlós
  2. Illyrian · derived from*Hullurio“(place or tribe) of the serpent”
  3. Ancient Greek · derived fromἸλλυρία
  4. Latin · borrowed fromIllyria
  5. English todayIllyria

From Latin Illyria, from Ancient Greek Ἰλλυρία (Illuría), which may be from Illyrian *Hullurio (“(place or tribe) of the serpent”), from Proto-Indo-European *udlós. This is supported by the attestation of Hílurios by Plautus in Menaechmi (200s BC).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.