Etymology

Riga

R1I1G2A1

Today it means: The capital city of Latvia. Full definition →

Latvian Rīga
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Riga · proper noun1

  1. Latvian · borrowed fromRīga
  2. English todayRiga

From Latvian Rīga, of disputed origin: * Possibly a form of Riege, the German name for the Rīdzene, a tributary of the Daugava river. * Possibly from rija (“threshing barn”), the j becoming a g in German (note that English geographer Richard Hakluyt calls the city Rie in 1589, and that German historian Dionysius Fabricius confirms in 1610 the origin of Rīga from rija).

Riga · proper noun2

  1. Greek · borrowed fromΡήγα
  2. Italian · borrowed fromRiga
  3. English todayRiga

Borrowed from Italian Riga and Greek Ρήγα (Ríga).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.