Etymology

Melanesia

Mel·a·ne·sia
M3E1L1A1N1E1S1I1A1

Today it means: A continental region of Oceania, consisting of New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji. Full definition →

French Mélanésie ← Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos) ← Proto-Hellenic *mélans
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*melh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mélh₂ns
  3. Proto-Hellenic*mélans
  4. Ancient Greekμέλας (mélas)
  5. Ancient Greekνῆσος (nêsos)
  6. FrenchMélanésie
  7. English todayMelanesia

From French Mélanésie (coined by Jules Dumont d'Urville), from Ancient Greek μέλας (mélas, “dark”) + νῆσος (nêsos, “island”), referring to the skin color of the inhabitants.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekμέλας all →

Melaniemelatoninmelasmela-

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.