Euphrate (French)
Where does "Euphrate" come from?
The French name 'Euphrate' traces its long history back to the Sumerian 'Buranun'. This name passed into Akkadian as 'Purattu' and was subsequently adopted by the Old Persian language as 'u-f-r-a-tu-u', which underwent folk etymology to become 'Hufrātuš', meaning 'having good fords'. The Greeks adapted this as 'Euphrátēs', which the Latin language then borrowed as 'Euphrates' before it finally entered French as 'Euphrate'.
Full etymology tree
- Euphrate (French), 'Euphrates (a river in West Asia, 2780 kilometers in length, flowing southwest from Turkey, then southeast, and uniting with the Tigris before entering the Persian Gulf)'
- inherited Euphratēs (Latin), 'Euphrates (a river in West Asia)'
- inherited Εὐφράτης (Euphrátēs) (Ancient Greek), 'Euphrates, a river in Asia'
- borrowed 𐎢𐎳𐎼𐎠𐎬𐎢 (Ufrātuš) (Old Persian), 'Euphrates'
- inherited 𒀀𒇉𒌓𒄒𒉣 (Purattu) (Akkadian), 'Euphrates'
- borrowed 𒀀𒇉𒌓𒄒𒉣 (Buranun) (Sumerian), 'Euphrates'
- inherited 𒀀𒇉𒌓𒄒𒉣 (Purattu) (Akkadian), 'Euphrates'
- borrowed 𐎢𐎳𐎼𐎠𐎬𐎢 (Ufrātuš) (Old Persian), 'Euphrates'
- inherited Εὐφράτης (Euphrátēs) (Ancient Greek), 'Euphrates, a river in Asia'
- inherited Euphratēs (Latin), 'Euphrates (a river in West Asia)'
Ancestors
- Euphrates (Latin)
- Εὐφράτης (Ancient Greek)
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris