Meanings
alternative Pyrénées
- pluralplural onlyThe mountain range separating Spain from France, inhabited by Basques in the west, Occitans in the centre-north, Aragonese in the centre-south, and Catalans in the east.
The summit of the climb came 38km from the end of stage 14, which began in Limoux and ended in Foix in the foothills of the Pyrenees, and the incident occurred as the peloton emerged into the light and passed under the banner at the top, a quarter of an hour behind a five-man breakaway.
2012 July 15, Richard Williams, “Tour de France 2012: Carpet tacks cannot force Bradley Wiggins off track”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2022
Origin
- Ancient GreekΠυρηναῖος
- LatinPȳrēnaeī
- Middle FrenchPyrenees
- Middle EnglishPireneies
- EnglishPyrenees
From Middle English Pireneies, partly from Middle French Pyrenees and partly from Latin Pȳrēnaeī (montēs) (literally “Pyrenean (mountains)”), plural of Pȳrēnaeus (“Pyrenean”), from Ancient Greek Πυρηναῖος (Purēnaîos), from Πῡρήνη (Pūrḗnē, “Pyrene”, literally “fruit-stone”) + -αῖος (-aîos). According to mythology, Pyrene was a daughter of King Bebryx who was loved or violated by Heracles; after fleeing into the wilderness and dying, she was buried by him, and the Pyrenees were said to be named after her.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Pireneë
- Pireneëthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Ancient Greek Πῡρήνη, Πῡρηναῖᾰ ὄρη
- Πῡρήνη (Pūrḗnē)the mountain range separating Spain from France
- Πῡρηναῖᾰ ὄρη (Pūrēnaîă órē)the mountain range separating Spain from France
- Πῡρηναῖᾰ (Pūrēnaîă)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Arabic البَرَانِس
- البَرَانِس (al-barānis)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Basque Pirinioak
- Pirinioakthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Bulgarian Пирене́и
- Пирене́и (Pirenéi)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Catalan Pirineus
- Pirineusthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Chinese Mandarin 比利牛斯山脈 /比利牛斯山脉
- 比利牛斯山脈 /比利牛斯山脉 (Bǐlìniúsī shānmài)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Czech Pyreneje
- Pyrenejethe mountain range separating Spain from France
Danish Pyrenæerne
- Pyrenæernethe mountain range separating Spain from France
Dutch Pyreneeën
- Pyreneeënthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Esperanto Pireneoj
- Pireneojthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Estonian Püreneed
- Püreneedthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Finnish Pyreneet
- Pyreneetthe mountain range separating Spain from France
French Pyrénées, monts Pyrénées
- Pyrénéesthe mountain range separating Spain from France
- monts Pyrénéesthe mountain range separating Spain from France
German Pyrenäen
- Pyrenäenthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Greek Πυρηναία
- Πυρηναία (Pyrinaía)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Hindi पिरेने
- पिरेने (pirene)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Hungarian Pireneusok
- Pireneusokthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Irish Na Piréiní
- Na Piréiníthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Italian Pirenei
- Pireneithe mountain range separating Spain from France
Japanese ピレネー山脈
- ピレネー山脈 (Pirenē-sanmyaku)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Latin Pȳrēnaeī
- Pȳrēnaeīthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Latvian Pireneji
- Pirenejithe mountain range separating Spain from France
Lithuanian Pirėnai
- Pirėnaithe mountain range separating Spain from France
Norwegian Bokmål Pyreneene
- Pyreneenethe mountain range separating Spain from France
Persian پیرنه
- پیرنه (pirene)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Polish Pireneje
- Pirenejethe mountain range separating Spain from France
Portuguese Pireneus, Pirenéus
- Pireneusthe mountain range separating Spain from France
- Pirenéusthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Romanian Pirinei
- Pirineithe mountain range separating Spain from France
Russian Пирене́и
- Пирене́и (Pirenéi)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Slovak Pyreneje
- Pyrenejethe mountain range separating Spain from France
Spanish Pirineos
- Pirineosthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Swedish Pyrenéerna
- Pyrenéernathe mountain range separating Spain from France
Turkish Pireneler
- Pirenelerthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Ukrainian Пірене́ї
- Пірене́ї (Pirenéji)the mountain range separating Spain from France
Welsh y Pyreneau
- y Pyreneauthe mountain range separating Spain from France
Cite this entry
Pyrenees. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pyrenees
“Pyrenees.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pyrenees. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Pyrenees,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Pyrenees.
Source: Pyrenees on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.