Argentina (Spanish)
Where does "Argentina" come from?
The name Argentina derives from the Spanish word 'argentino,' meaning 'silvery.' This name serves as a nod to the Río de la Plata, or 'River of Silver,' which early European explorers named under the hopeful, though ultimately mistaken, belief that the region held vast deposits of precious metals.
Full etymology tree
- Argentina (Spanish), 'Argentina (a country in South America)'
- derived argentino (Spanish), 'Argentinian, Argentine'
- learned borrowing argentīnus (Latin), 'Argentinian'
- derived argentum (Latin), 'silver (metal, element)'
- learned borrowing argentīnus (Latin), 'Argentinian'
- derived argentino (Spanish), 'Argentinian, Argentine'
Descendants and derived words
- Arhentina (Tagalog)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris