23457
I'm trying to figure out where the term イギリス for the United Kingdom came from.

I suspect 英国【えいこく】 because they sound similar, but that seems a bit odd as
Katakana words are usually loan words.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-26T05:25:01.773
23456
2015-03-26T08:42:35.280
2015-03-26T08:42:35.280
3275
1805
question
etymology loanwords
What is the etymology of イギリス?
After further research I can say that in fact, イギリス actually came from
Portuguese and first appeared in the 日葡辞書【にっぽじしょ】 (Vocabulario da Lingoa de
Iapam) compiled by a Jesuit Missionary in Nagasaki in 1603, the start of the
Edo Period. It came from the Portuguese word `inglês` which would have been
pronounced イグレス and after interactions with Great Britain, the word changed
from イグレス to イギリス.

* * *

Sometimes you can hear an alternative explanation, such as [here on
_chiebukuro_](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1098017210)
(Japanese). According to this link, イギリス came from the Dutch word (knowing no
Dutch I assume to be a variant of `Engels`) which in Japanese was for some
reason pronounced エゲリス. The interactions with the Dutch when discussing
England happened during the Edo Period (AD1603 - AD1868) and after
interactions with Great Britain, the word would have changed from エグリス to
イギリス。

However, reflecting my research above, the person responding to the question
at _chiebukuro_ appears to be wrong.

For reference, the original explanation from _chiebukuro_ :

> 江戸時代日本と唯一国交のあったオランダではイングランドの事をエゲレスと言った為それが変化してイギリスと呼ばれるようになったらしいです。
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-26T06:01:45.253
23457
2015-03-26T08:27:15.107
2015-03-26T08:27:15.107
3275
9241
23456
answer