Guianas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The collective name for the three territories on the northeastern coast of South America, namely Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana
2. A region in northeastern South America comprising the countries of Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas territory of French Guiana
3. The northern coastal area of South America that includes Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, often treated as a single geographic region

Etymology: The name originates in the languages of the region's Indigenous peoples. Its most often cited meaning is "land of waters," from words in Carib or Arawakan languages, though the exact source is uncertain. European explorers and colonists adopted it in forms such as "Guayana" and "Guiana," applying it to a large territory between the Orinoco and the Amazon that no European power controlled as a single unit. The plural "Guianas" arose from that fragmentation. As the Dutch, English, and French established colonies along the coast, the single old name came to cover several separate territories. Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana now sit within the region, and the plural names them collectively.