Etymology

Ontario

On·tar·io
O1N1T1A1R1I1O1

Today it means: A province in eastern Canada. Capital: Toronto. Full definition →

Wyandot ontari꞉io ← Proto-North Iroquoian *-õtaɹeʔ ← Proto-Iroquoian * -õːtaɹiʔ
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The story

  1. Proto-Iroquoian · derived from* -õːtaɹiʔ
  2. Proto-North Iroquoian · derived from*-õtaɹeʔ
  3. Wyandot · borrowed fromontari꞉io
  4. English todayOntario

Probably from Wyandot ontari꞉io (literally “great lake”). If so, ultimately from Proto-North Iroquoian *-õtaɹeʔ and Proto-Iroquoian * -õːtaɹiʔ. The Canadian province and New York county were named after the lake.

Words from the same roots

Wyandotontari꞉io all →

Lake Ontario

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.