Cayo
/ˈkiː.oʊ/noun
A small, low island or sandbar, especially in the Caribbean.
Did you know?Cayo ultimately comes from Taíno, an Indigenous Caribbean language whose geographic vocabulary also influenced Spanish descriptions of the region.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Columbian era
Taíno
cayo
“Small island or low island; the earliest documented source of the term”
16th Century
Spanish
cayo
“A small, low island, reef, or sandbank in the Caribbean”
17th Century
English
cay
“A small island or shoal, borrowed through Caribbean Spanish”
18th Century
English
cayo
“A variant form used especially in Caribbean geographical names and descriptions”
Modern English
English
cayo
“A small Caribbean island or sandbar, often appearing in place names”