Etymology

Kuril Islands

Today it means: An archipelago between Japan and Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean. Full definition →

Russian Кури́лы ← Ainu クㇽ
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The story

  1. Ainu · derived fromクㇽ“a person”
  2. Russian · borrowed fromКури́лы
  3. English todayKuril Islands

Borrowed from Russian Кури́лы (Kuríly). One theory suggests that its name is ultimately from Ainu クㇽ (“a person”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.