Probably from a Portuguese transliteration of the name of the Zenaga (possibly from Arabic زنجي ( “ Zanj, Negro ” ) , from Persian زَنگ ( “ Land of the Blacks ” ) Etymology 3 . Or a combination of the supreme deity in Serer religion ( Rog Sene ) and o gal meaning body of water in the Serer language.
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From Portuguese Senegal .
Internationalism
Internationalism , ultimately from the name of the Senegal River ; compare French Sénégal . The country takes its name from the river.
The origin of the river name is uncertain. One common explanation connects it with Azenegue , a Portuguese name for the Zenaga or Sanhaja , a Berber group that lived north of the river. Fifteenth-century Portuguese accounts record related ethnonym forms such as Azanaghi , Azenegues , Cenegii and Azaneguys ; modern Zenaga speakers call themselves Iznāgen . The deeper origin of the ethnonym and the exact development from it to the river name remain uncertain.
A popular folk etymology instead connects the name with Wolof sunu gaal (“our boat”). Store norske leksikon describes this explanation as a popular myth rather than an established etymology.
Parallel international forms include Norwegian Nynorsk Senegal , Danish Senegal , Swedish Senegal , German Senegal , French Sénégal and English Senegal .
Borrowed from Spanish Senegal ( “ Senegal ” ) .
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