Etymology of the Old Names of Asian Countries Quiz

Answer: Land of Morning Calm

Joseon was the first and last kingdom in Korea. Joseon was first established in 2333 BC by Dangun. In the Korean language, it means "Land of the Dawn" or "Land of Morning Calm." Korea is located east of China and the name is similar to that of Japan, which means "Land of the Rising Sun". North Korea is still known by this name today.

Answer: Land of Gold

Siam may be derived from the Portuguese "Sciam". In the Pali language, it means land of gold. It is the only country in South East Asia which was never colonized by any Western powers.

Answer: Lion-like

Lanka is the name used by the Indians to refer to the island, located south-east of India. Sinhala means processing the characteristics of a lion or lion-like. In a 6th century chronicle of the Sinhala dynasty, a prince named Sihabahu captured and killed a lion to revenge the death of his father.

Answer: Beautiful island

The island was discovered and named by Portuguese sailors in 1542. They named it "Ilha Formosa" which means beautiful island.

Answer: Land surrounded by the sea

The word was originated from the Malay in the 14th century, meaning land surrounded by the sea. The name appeared in the literature of Malaya and Java. Chinese documents recorded by historians during the Yuan and Ming dynasties named the island "Danmaxi".

Answer: Land ruled by Khitan

Cathay came from the Medieval Latin Cataya or Cathaya. In the Turkic language, it means the land in northern China ruled by Khitan. Khitan was the nomadic tribe living in northern China. During ancient times, north China was referred to as Cathay.

Answer: Land of the Horses

Persia, present-day Iran, came from the Farsi word "fars" which means horseman, and the Arabic word "farash" meaning stable for horses. Ancient Persians were reputed for taming horses.

In Greek, the name is "persis" meaning the Land of Plenty.

Answer: Land between rivers

In ancient Greek, it means land between rivers. Iraq lies between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, derived from the Greek word "mesopotamos", "mesos" is middle and "potamos" meaning river.

Answer: Tyrian purple or crimson

The word came from Latin (adj. poenicus or punicus) and Greek (phoinikes) which mean Tyrian purple, crimson or date palm. The word was also derived from the Greek word "phoinós" meaning blood-red. Phoenicia was an ancient Mediterranean kingdom which covered the countries of modern-day Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Answer: Land of the Sun

Khorsan is a Persian word which means "The Land of the Sun" or "The Eastern Province". The name was first used by the Sasanians in the beginning of the third century BC. The historical region covered the present-day north-east Iran, south Turkmenistan and north Afghanistan.