Meanings
- Zamboanga peninsula (a peninsula in Mindanao, Philippines).
- Province of Zamboanga (a former province of Mindanao, Philippines)
- historicalThe Republic of Zamboanga, a short-lived revolutionary republic, founded after the collapse of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, existing between May and November 1899.
Origin
- smlSamboangan“mooring place”
- SpanishZamboanga
- EnglishZamboanga
From Spanish Zamboanga, from Central Sama Samboangan (“mooring place”), from sambuwang (“large mooring post”) + -an (locative suffix). The root is cognate with Malay sembuang (“large mooring post”). The original etymon is attested in the Velarde map (1734). A popular folk etymology may also attribute it to Malay jambangan (“flower garden”), from jambang (“flower pot”) + -an (locative suffix), but this name has never been attested in any historical records prior to the 1960s with the place being historically attested usually instead as "Samboangan".
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 三寶顏 /三宝颜
- 三寶顏 /三宝颜 (Sānbǎoyán)city in the Philippines
French Zamboanga
- Zamboangacity in the Philippines
German Zamboanga
- Zamboangacity in the Philippines
Greek Ζαμποάνγκα
- Ζαμποάνγκα (Zampoángka)city in the Philippines
Japanese サンボアンガ
- サンボアンガcity in the Philippines
Korean 잠보앙가
- 잠보앙가 (jamboangga)city in the Philippines
Russian Замбоанга
- Замбоангаcity in the Philippines
Spanish Zamboanga, Ciudad de Zamboanga
- Zamboangacity in the Philippines
- Ciudad de Zamboangacity in the Philippines
Tagalog Zamboanga
- Zamboangacity in the Philippines
Cite this entry
Zamboanga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zamboanga
“Zamboanga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zamboanga. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Zamboanga,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Zamboanga.
Source: Zamboanga on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.