Estonia
/ɛˈstoʊniə/noun
A country in Northern Europe on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Did you know?The name Estonia is not originally a native self-name in modern form; it was shaped through Latinized and Germanic historical usage, with scholars tracing it to early forms like Aestii/Aestland that were used by outsiders for Baltic peoples.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Rome
Latin
Aestii
“A name used by Roman writers for peoples near the Baltic Sea”
Early Medieval
Proto-Germanic
Aust-
“East; the direction of sunrise”
Medieval Latin
Latin
Estonia / Aestonia
“Latinized place-name forms referring to the eastern Baltic region”
13th-16th Century
German / Latin
Estland / Estonia
“Names used in regional chronicles and administrative writing for the land of the Ests or eastern Baltic peoples”
19th-20th Century
English
Estonia
“The modern English name of the Baltic nation”
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