Bogotá
/ˌboʊɡəˈtɑː/noun
The capital and largest city of Colombia, located on a high plateau in the Andes.
Did you know?The modern name derives from Bacatá, a Muisca place-name recorded by Spanish colonizers; its exact original meaning remains debated rather than securely translated.
Etymological Timeline
Before the 16th Century
Muisca
Bacatá
“Indigenous place-name associated with the region of present-day Bogotá; its precise meaning is uncertain.”
1530s
Spanish
Bogotá
“Spanish adaptation of the Muisca name Bacatá.”
1538
Spanish
Santa Fe de Bogotá
“Name given to the Spanish colonial settlement founded in the area.”
1819
Spanish
Bogotá
“The city became the capital of independent Colombia, then called the Republic of Colombia.”
Modern English
English
Bogotá
“The capital city of Colombia.”