Ontario
/ɒnˈtɛə.ri.oʊ/noun
A province of Canada and the name of the large lake it borders.
Did you know?The name Ontario is generally traced to an Indigenous source in the Huron-Wendat/Iroquoian sphere, likely referring to a great lake or beautiful water, before it was adopted into French and then English usage.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Contact Indigenous North America
Huron-Wendat
(reconstructed) ontarí:io / onitariio
“A name associated with the great lake or beautiful lake-water region”
17th Century
French
Ontario
“Used by French explorers and cartographers as a geographic name for the lake”
18th Century
English
Ontario
“Adopted in English for the lake and surrounding territory”
1867
English
Ontario
“Official name of the Canadian province formed at Confederation”
Modern English
English
Ontario
“The Canadian province and the lake for which it is named”