Gazetteer
/ˌɡæz.əˈtɪər/noun
A geographical dictionary or index of place names.
Did you know?Gazetteer ultimately comes from Venetian gazeta, the price of a newspaper, so the word began as something you paid a coin for before it became a whole book of places.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
Venetian
gazeta
“A small copper coin; later the price of a news-sheet”
16th–17th Century
Italian
gazzetta
“A news-sheet or newspaper”
17th Century
French
gazette
“A newspaper or official news publication”
17th Century
English
gazette
“A newspaper or official journal”
18th Century
English
gazetteer
“A compiler or seller of gazettes; later, a geographical dictionary or list of places”