Mauretania
/ˌmɔːrɪˈteɪniə/noun
An ancient North African region and a Roman client kingdom, roughly corresponding to parts of modern Morocco and Algeria.
Did you know?The name Mauretania comes from the Mauri, a people the Romans associated with the far western edge of their world; despite the spooky modern spelling, it has no known occult meaning.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Roman Antiquity
Berber/Latin
Mauri
“The name used by Romans for the people of northwestern Africa”
Roman Era
Latin
Mauretania
“The land of the Mauri; a Romanized regional name for part of North Africa”
Late Latin
Latin
Mauretania
“A province/region name used in administrative and geographical writing”
Middle English
English
Mauritania
“A learned historical/geographical name for the North African region”
Modern English
English
Mauretania
“The historical region and former colonial-era geographical name”
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