Riverina

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large agricultural region of southeastern Australia lying along the Murray River between New South Wales and Victoria
2. An area in southeastern Australia bordering the Murray River, known for farming, irrigation and wine production
3. The inland district of southern New South Wales stretching along the Murray River, noted for its rich pastoral land

Etymology: Riverina is built from the English "river" plus the suffix "-ina," which appears in Spanish and Italian place names such as "Argentina" and "Carolina." The name refers to the land lying between two great rivers of southeastern Australia, the Murray and the Murrumbidgee, and the region is named for the waterways that define it. The suffix is the unusual part. English speakers in the Australian colonies were naming country after the rivers that watered it, and the Latinate ending gave the coinage a grander, pastoral sound. Exactly when the name first appeared in print, and who first applied it, is not something I can confirm with certainty, so the precise date of its coinage is best checked against Australian historical records.