Amazonia

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. The vast tropical region of South America drained by the Amazon River and covered largely by rainforest
2. A huge swath of South American lowland, centered on the Amazon basin and its dense jungle and river systems
3. The immense rainforest territory across northern South America watered by the Amazon and its many tributaries

Etymology: The name of the river and the region goes back to the Amazons, the warrior women of Greek myth, but the link is a little more roundabout than it first appears. The river was named after them by the Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana, who in 1542 claimed to have fought women warriors along its banks, and the name stuck to the river and then, through Latin "Amazonia," to the vast region around it. The Greek word "Amazon" itself has no secure Greek etymology. Ancient writers offered a folk explanation, deriving it from "a-mazos," meaning "without a breast," supposedly because the warriors cut off a breast to draw their bows. Modern scholars regard this as a popular story rather than the real origin. The suffix "-ia" is a Latin ending used to form place names and abstract nouns, so "Amazonia" simply means "the land of the Amazons." The English form appeared in the 1800s as the region's name became fixed on maps.

Synonyms: Amazon