Eritrea

E1R1I1T1R1E1A1
UK/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹeɪ.ə/UK/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹiː.ə/British, Southern, Standard/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹɛjə/British, Southern, Standard/ˌɛɹɪˈtɹɪjə/

proper noun

The modern State of Eritrea (since the 1990s).

OriginItalian (l')Eritrea ← Latin erythraeus ← Ancient Greek ἐρυθραῖος (eruthraîos) →
CommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A country in East Africa, on the Red Sea. Capital: Asmara.
    1. The modern State of Eritrea (since the 1990s).

      Close to the border with Eritrea, its ethereal, Martian landscape sits within the Danakil Depression.

      2025 April 22, Joe Minihane, “24 of the world’s most unusual landscapes”, in CNN, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2025
    2. historicalA former province of or in union with Ethiopia.
    3. historicalA former colony of Italy.

Synonyms & antonyms

Broader
Subsahara

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
  3. Proto-Italic*kʷelō
  4. Latincolō
  5. Latincolōnus
  6. Latincolōnia
  7. Italiancolonia
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₁rewdʰ-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₁rudʰrós
  10. Proto-Hellenic*erutʰrós
  11. Ancient Greekἐρυθρός (eruthrós)
  12. Ancient Greekἐρυθραῖος (eruthraîos)
  13. Latinerythraeus
  14. Italianeritreo
  15. Italianeritrea
  16. Italianla Colonia eritreaellip.
  17. Italian(l')Eritrea
  18. EnglishEritrea

Borrowed from Italian (l')Eritrea, first used in Italian as an ellipsis of la Colonia eritrea (“Italian Eritrea”, literally “the Erythraean colony”), from eritrea, feminine of eritreo (“Erythraean (of or relating to the Erythraean Sea)”), from Latin erythraeus (“reddish”), from Ancient Greek ἐρυθρός (eruthrós, “red”).

More words from Italian, Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Arabic إِرِتْرِيَا
  • إِرِتْرِيَا (ʔiritriyā)country in Eastern Africa
Bengali ইরিত্রিয়া
  • ইরিত্রিয়া (iritriẏa)country in Eastern Africa
Bulgarian Еритре́я
  • Еритре́я (Eritréja)country in Eastern Africa
Catalan Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Chinese Mandarin 厄立特里亞, 厄利垂亞 /厄利垂亚
  • 厄立特里亞 (Èlìtèlǐyà)country in Eastern Africa
  • 厄利垂亞 /厄利垂亚 (Èlìchuíyà)country in Eastern Africa
Czech Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Danish Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Dutch Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Esperanto Eritreo
  • Eritreocountry in Eastern Africa
Estonian Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Finnish Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
French Érythrée
  • Érythréecountry in Eastern Africa
German Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Greek Ερυθραία
  • Ερυθραία (Erythraía)country in Eastern Africa
Hebrew אֶרִיתְרֵאָה
  • אֶרִיתְרֵאָה (eritre'a)country in Eastern Africa
Hindi इरिट्रिया
  • इरिट्रिया (iriṭriyā)country in Eastern Africa
Hungarian Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Icelandic Erítrea
  • Erítreacountry in Eastern Africa
Indonesian Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Irish An Eiritré
  • An Eiritrécountry in Eastern Africa
Italian Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Japanese エリトリア
  • エリトリア (Eritoria)country in Eastern Africa
Korean 에리트레아
  • 에리트레아 (Eriteurea)country in Eastern Africa
Latvian Eritreja
  • Eritrejacountry in Eastern Africa
Lithuanian Eritrėja
  • Eritrėjacountry in Eastern Africa
Malay Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Māori Eritēria
  • Eritēriacountry in Eastern Africa
Norwegian Bokmål Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Persian اریتره
  • اریتره (eritre)country in Eastern Africa
Polish Erytrea
  • Erytreacountry in Eastern Africa
Portuguese Eritreia
  • Eritreiacountry in Eastern Africa
Romanian Eritreea
  • Eritreeacountry in Eastern Africa
Russian Эритре́я
  • Эритре́я (Eritréja)country in Eastern Africa
Slovak Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Spanish Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Swahili Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Swedish Eritrea
  • Eritreacountry in Eastern Africa
Tagalog Eritreya
  • Eritreyacountry in Eastern Africa
Tamil எரித்திரியா
  • எரித்திரியா (erittiriyā)country in Eastern Africa
Thai เอริเทรีย
  • เอริเทรีย (ee-rí-triia)country in Eastern Africa
Turkish Eritre
  • Eritrecountry in Eastern Africa
Ukrainian Еритре́я
  • Еритре́я (Erytréja)country in Eastern Africa
Urdu ارتریا, اریٹریا
  • ارتریا (iritriyā)country in Eastern Africa
  • اریٹریا (irīṭriyā)country in Eastern Africa
Vietnamese Ê-ri-tơ-rê-a
  • Ê-ri-tơ-rê-acountry in Eastern Africa
Yiddish עריטרעאַ
  • עריטרעאַ (eritrea)country in Eastern Africa

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Eritrea

viaideaKoreaeamariaTanzaniaLuciaGarciamialeaplayaIsaiahBeadiarrheaLeahsheariaGaiaureaHoseapizzeriaSandiatortillaPadilla
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Eretria
Cite this entry
APA

Eritrea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eritrea

MLA

“Eritrea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eritrea. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Eritrea,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eritrea.

Source: Eritrea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.