Europe (English)
Where does "Europe" come from?
The English word 'Europe' is inherited from Middle English 'Europe'[1], which was a learned borrowing from the Latin 'Eurōpa'[1][2][3]. The Latin term itself was borrowed from the Doric Greek 'Εὐρώπα' ('Eurṓpa')[1][2][3].
Full etymology tree
- Europe (English), 'A continent located west of Asia (separated by the Urals), north of Africa and east of the Atlantic Ocean.'
- inherited Europe (Middle English), 'Europe (a continent located west of Asia and north of Africa)'
- learned borrowing Europa (Latin), 'Europa (several characters, most notably a Phoenician princess abducted to Crete by Zeus)'
- borrowed Εὐρώπα (Eurṓpa) (Ancient Greek), 'Doric form of Εὐρώπη (Eurṓpē):'
- learned borrowing Europa (Latin), 'Europa (several characters, most notably a Phoenician princess abducted to Crete by Zeus)'
- inherited Europe (Middle English), 'Europe (a continent located west of Asia and north of Africa)'
Cognates and doublets
- Europa (English)
Descendants and derived words
- breadbasket of Europe (English)
- Eurabia (English)
- Eurafrasia (English)
- Eurafrica (English)
- Eurasia (English)
- Euro (English)
- Euro (English)
- Euro (English)
- europate (English)
- European (English)
- European (English)
- Europe shop (English)
Sources
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris