Etymology

Tierra del Fuego

Today it means: An island at the southern tip of South America, politically divided between Chile and Argentina; in full, Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. Full definition →

Spanish Tierra del Fuego
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The story

  1. Spanish · borrowed fromTierra del Fuego
  2. English todayTierra del Fuego

Borrowed from Spanish Tierra del Fuego (literally “Land of Fire”), reportedly named so by Ferdinand Magellan after the many fires lit up by the local population.

Words from the same roots

SpanishTierra del Fuego all →

fireland

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.