Paraguay

Borrowed from Guaraní Paraguay, formed either from para (“sea”) + gúa (“bordering”) or from paraguã (“crown of feathers”) + y (“river”).

Paraguay River (a major river in South America)


Uruguay

Disputed, either:
* Guaraní urugua y (literally “water shellfish”), from urugua (“shellfish”) + y (“water”); or
* Guaraní uru gua y (literally “type of water bird”) from uru (“type of bird”) + gua (“from”) + y (“water”).

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Uruguay River (a major river in South America)


Congo

Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo

Congo (a country in Central Africa, larger and to the east of the Republic of the Congo)

Congo (a country in Central Africa, smaller and to the west of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Congo (a large river in Africa, which flows for about 4,380 km (2,720 miles) to the Atlantic Ocean in the Democratic Republic of Congo)


Amazonas

→⇒ Ye'kwana: Amasonanña


Paraná

Borrowed from Old Tupi paranã (“river”).

Paraná (a river in central and southern South America)


canal

→ Tagalog: kanal

Inherited from Old Spanish canal, from Latin canālis (“channel; canal”).


lago

Inherited from Old Spanish lago, from Latin lacus, from Proto-Italic *lakus, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“lake, pool”).

inh

laguna

smaller than lago but bigger than charca


Cali

From Calima, a pre-Columbian culture, itself from a native (possibly Cariban) language.


mar

mar m or f same meaning (canonical)
mares (plural)

→ Aymara: lamara

→ Classical Nahuatl: láma̱r

→ Papiamentu: lama, laman

Inherited from Old Spanish mar (“sea”), from Latin mare (“sea”), from Proto-Italic *mari, from Proto-Indo-European *móri.

En la mar hay una torre
En la torre una ventana
En la ventana hay una hija
Que a los marineros ama.

2008, Cécile Corbel (lyrics and music), “En la mar [In the Middle of the Sea]”, in Songbook vol. 2 (CD), performed by Cécile Corbel, Brittany: Keltia Musique:

In the middle of the sea there's a tower
In the tower there's a window
At the window there's a maiden
Who loves the sailors.


bahía

→ Cebuano: bahiya

Borrowed from French baie, from Late Latin baia, perhaps of Iberian origin.


laguna

Inherited from Latin lacūna. Cognate with English lagoon and lacuna.

lake, pond, pool (smaller than lago but bigger than charca)


Huang He

Yellow River (a river in northern China)


Paz

paz (“peace”), shortened from María (de la) Paz, a Roman Catholic epithet of the Virgin Mary as "Our Lady of Peace" .


Nilo

Inherited from Old Spanish Nilo, from Latin Nīlus, from Ancient Greek Νεῖλος (Neîlos), of Semitic origin (compare Arabic نهر (nahr), Aramaic נהרא (nahrā), Hebrew נהר (nahar, “river”)).


puerto

Inherited from Old Spanish puerto, from Latin portus, from Proto-Italic *portus, from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to go forth, to cross”).


piscina

Learned borrowing from Latin piscīna (“fishpond; swimming pool”), from piscis (“fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *peysk-. Doublet of pecina.


Danubio

Learned borrowing from Latin Dānubius, from Proto-Celtic *Dānowyos, an extended form of the river-name *Dānu, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂nu (“river goddess”), akin to *dʰenh₂- (“to set in motion; to flow”).


Indo

Borrowed from Latin Indus, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿduš), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sindʰus or Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu).

Indus (a large river in south-central Asia, rising in China (Tibet) and flowing through India and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea)


golfo

Inherited from Vulgar Latin or Late Latin colfus, colphus, culfus, alteration of colpus following hypercorrection of the popular pronunciation of Latin 'ph' as 'p', itself from Ancient Greek κόλπος (kólpos).


océano

From Latin ōceanus. Cognate with English ocean.


flujo

Borrowed from Latin fluxus. Doublet of flojo, which is inherited.


Níger

Niger (a country in West Africa, situated to the north of Nigeria)

Niger (a major river in West Africa, that flows into the Gulf of Guinea in Nigeria)


Jordán

Jordan (a river in Western Asia, in the Middle East, that empties into the Dead Sea, flowing through Israel, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and Jordan)


Atlántico

océano Atlántico
océano Atlántico#Spanish

Ellipsis of océano Atlántico (“Atlantic Ocean”).


océano Atlántico

Atlantic Ocean (the ocean lying between the Americas to the west and Europe and Africa to the east)

oceans: océano: océano Antártico · océano Ártico · océano Atlántico · océano Índico · océano Pacífico [edit]


fiordo

Borrowed from Norwegian fjord, from Old Norse fjǫrðr, from a root shared by Latin portus (“harbor”).


estuario

Borrowed from Latin aestuārium, from aestus (“tide”).


Lucerna

Lucerne, Lake Lucerne (a lake in central Switzerland)


Flegetonte

Borrowed from Latin Phlegethōn, from Ancient Greek Φλεγέθων (Phlegéthōn).


Lete

Borrowed from Latin Lēthē, from Ancient Greek Λήθη (Lḗthē).


Fonseca

Borrowed from Portuguese Fonseca, from fonte seca (literally “dry well”).

A gulf bordering El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua


Támesis

Borrowed from Latin Tamesis, ultimately of Celtic origin.


Tamesí

Apoptotic form of Támesis. Compare with Catalan Tàmesi.

a river in North-Eastern Mexico, which flows out in the Pánuco river, by Tampico


Pánuco

a river in North-Eastern Mexico, which flows out in the Gulf of Mexico, by Tampico


Valle de los Reyes

el Valle de los Reyes (canonical masculine)

Valley of the Kings (Egyptian valley known for its tombs)


Coatzacoalcos

From Classical Nahuatl cōātl (“snake”) + tzacualli (“enclosure, something covered”) + -co (“a locative suffix”).

Coatzacoalcos (a major port city in the state of Veracruz, Mexico)

Coatzacoalcos (a municipality of Verazcruz, Mexico)

Coatzacoalcos (a large river which flows through the city of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and into the Gulf of Mexico)


cuerpo de agua

es-noun

cuerpo de agua m (plural cuerpos de agua)


charca

Related to charco (“pool, puddle”), a word usually considered imitative, but it could also be a borrowing from Basque.


Cocito

Borrowed from Latin Cōcȳtus, from Ancient Greek Κωκυτός (Kōkutós, “lamentation”).


Aqueronte

Borrowed from Latin Acherontem, from Ancient Greek Ἀχέρων (Akhérōn, “lamentation”). Doublet of Aquerón.


Aquerón

Borrowed from Latin Acherōn, from Ancient Greek Ἀχέρων (Akhérōn, “lamentation”). Doublet of Aqueronte.


Estigia

Borrowed from Latin Styx, from Ancient Greek Στύξ (Stúx).


Guadalquivir

From Arabic الوَادِي الكَبِير (al-wādī l-kabīr, literally “the great river”).

الوَادِي الكَبِير

Guadalquivir (a river in southern Spain)


Pacífico

Borrowed from Portuguese (Mar) Pacífico, named by Ferdinand Magellan, from Latin pācificus (“peace making”).

(ocean) the Pacific; Ellipsis of Océano Pacífico (“Pacific Ocean”).


Índico

Borrowed from Latin Indicus, from India.

(ocean) Short form of Océano Índico, the Indian Ocean


Ródano

Rhone (a river in France and Switzerland)


Duero

Inherited from Latin Durius (compare Portuguese Douro), possibly named after Celtic tribes inhabiting the area, from Proto-Celtic *dubros (“water”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewb- (“deep”). Also see Welsh dwfr.


Grandes Lagos

Great Lakes (a group of five lakes on the United States-Canada border)


Guadiana

Inherited from Old Spanish Aguadiana, derived from Arabic وَادِي (wādī, “river, valley”) + Latin Anās (ancient name of the river), related to anas (“duck”).

Guadiana (a river in Spain and Portugal)


océano Ártico

Arctic Ocean (an ocean in the northern polar regions)


océano Antártico

Antarctic Ocean, Southern Ocean (an ocean in the southern polar regions)


Galveston

Borrowed from English Galveston, from Spanish Gálvez+English town.

Bahía de Galveston
Bahía de Galveston#Spanish

Ellipsis of Bahía de Galveston.: Galveston Bay (a bay of the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic in Texas, United States)


ensenada

Feminine form of ensenado (“having the form of a sound or inlet”) from en- + seno (“sound, sinus, breast”) from Latin sinus.


Quindío

→ English: Quindío


Ica

→ Russian: И́ка (Íka)


Júcar

Júcar (a river in Spain). It flows through the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete and Valencia


Rímac

English: Rimac

desc

→ Chinese: → 里馬克 (Lǐmǎkè) (transliteration)

From Quechua rimaq. Doublet of Lima, an older borrowing.


Ucayali

Latin: ucayalēnsis

A river in Peru, a major source of the Amazon


Pisuerga

Cantabrian Mountains
Cantabrian Mountains

a river in Spain, whose source is in the Cantabrian Mountains and which flows into the Duero

aprovechando que el Pisuerga pasa por Valladolid


Paracas

→ English: Paracas

Bahía de Paracas
Bahía de Paracas#Spanish

Ellipsis of Bahía de Paracas.; A bay of Pisco Province, Ica Region, Peru, on the Pacific Ocean


Vaupés

A river in Colombia, a tributary of the Río Negro


El Tuque

English: El Tuque

El Tuque (a beach in Punta Cucharas, Canas, Ponce, Puerto Rico, United States)


Santa Gloria

English: Santa Gloria

Latin: Sancta Gloria

From santo + gloria. From Latin sanctus+gloria (literally “Holy Glory”). Coined by Christopher Columbus, who was stranded there for a year, June 1503 - June 1504.

der

Saint Ann Parish
Saint Ann Parish#English

Middlesex County
Middlesex County#English

Santa Gloria; Former name of Saint Ann's Bay.

A bay of Saint Ann Parish, Middlesex County, Jamaica


Narcea

a river in Asturias, sourcing in the southwest of the region and flowing into the Nalón


Río de la Plata

→ English: River Plate (calque), → Río de la Plata, Rio de la Plata


Cagayán

A river in northeastern Luzon, Philippines

A river in northern Mindanao, Philippines


Despeñaperros

Verb-object compound, composed of despeña (“to throw off a cliff”) + perros (“dogs”).

es-verb-obj

a river in Spain that flows through Ciudad Real and Jaén, flowing into the Guarrizas River


Motagua

a river in Central America, flowing through Guatemala and Honduras into the Caribbean Sea


Ilopango

From Pipil elut (“maize”) + pan (“place”) + co (“in”).


Acelhuate

From Pipil atzelwia (“irrigated land”) + at (“water”).


Comalapa

From Classical Nahuatl comalli (“pan used to grill tortillas”) + atl (“water”) + -pan.


Lenne

A toponym for rivers and settlements in Germany


Guadalhorce

From Arabic وادى الحراس (“wādī al-jurs”).


Tinto

A river in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain, which flows into the Huelva estuary.