Iberia
/aɪˈbɪə.ri.ə/noun
A historical and geographic name for the Iberian Peninsula and, in some contexts, the ancient region of Georgia in the Caucasus.
Did you know?The name Iberia is ancient, but scholars do not agree on its ultimate root: it was used by Greeks for the peninsula long before modern Spain and Portugal existed, and it may come from a pre-Roman river or tribal name.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Ἰβηρία (Ibēría)
“The land beyond the western Mediterranean, especially the Iberian Peninsula.”
Classical Latin
Latin
Hiberia / Iberia
“A geographic name for the western peninsula of Europe.”
Late Antiquity
Latin
Hiberia
“Also used by Greco-Roman writers for a kingdom in eastern Georgia (Caucasus).”
Middle Ages
Latin
Iberia
“The established learned name for the peninsula in medieval geographical writing.”
Modern English
English
Iberia
“The historical-geographic name for the Iberian Peninsula, and sometimes a poetic or formal regional name.”