Siberia
/saɪˈbɪə.ri.ə/noun
A vast region of northern Asia, most of which lies in Russia.
Did you know?The name is usually traced to a Turkic ethnonym, likely connected to the Siber/Tatars or a related tribal name, and only later became the label for the immense region we know today.
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
Russian
Сибирь
“The region east of the Urals, named for the local land/people as understood by Russian explorers and chroniclers.”
Late Medieval Period
Turkic
Sibir / Sibir
“A tribal or regional name, probably referring to a local group or polity in western Siberia.”
Earlier Medieval Period
Turkic
*Sibir
“Reconstructed ancestral form of the ethnonym/toponym, exact origin uncertain.”
Modern English
English
Siberia
“The broad northern Asian region, especially associated with cold, remoteness, and exile.”