Colorado
/ˌkʌl.əˈrɑː.doʊ/noun
A U.S. state in the western United States, named for the Colorado River; the Spanish word means "red" or "colored."
Did you know?The name comes from Spanish colorado, originally meaning "reddened" or "colored," and it was applied to the river because of its reddish silt long before it became a state name.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
color
“color, hue, appearance”
Old Spanish
Old Spanish
colorado
“colored; reddened; flushed”
1861
English
Colorado
“The name adopted for the Colorado Territory, taken from the river name”
Modern English
English
Colorado
“A U.S. state and geographic name”