*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Libya

From Latin Libya, from Ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē). Attested in English since the 16th century.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A country in North Africa. Capital: Tripoli. · Africa; that is, the part of North Africa known in classical antiquity.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Latin Libya, from Ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē). Attested in English since the 16th century.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Unspecified derivation mentionLibyala
  • Unspecified derivation mentionΛιβύηgrc
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "Libya"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin Libya"
    },
    {
      "name": "uder",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "Λιβύη"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Libya",
      "Libya#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "Λιβύη",
      "Λιβύη#Ancient_Greek"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Korean",
      "lang_code": "ko",
      "word": "리비아",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "Ribia"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A country in North Africa. Capital: Tripoli.",
        "Africa; that is, the part of North Africa known in classical antiquity."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "f1f44369c5e8fb7114628cb7103cbdf049893b37007a2d49ed6d9837f6c5d810",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c02b87f5852028a90688efe75858c1d9d6fda0f0bf5b1da1e0ae1bc4c585b1d8",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 7311
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Libya →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TGlieWE