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I'm trying to figure out where the term イギリス for the United Kingdom came from.

I suspect 英国【えいこく】 because they sound similar, but that seems a bit odd as Katakana words are usually loan words.

blutorange
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paullb
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    Related: イングランド vs. イギリス vs. 英国 – blutorange Mar 26 '15 at 08:06
  • @blutorange not just related, but the question is also answered there – Kimball Mar 26 '15 at 08:45
  • @Kimball Hmm, that's an interesting case. The question is not a duplicate (it's asking about the usage between these words), but one answer addresses the etymology as well. To make it even more complicated, the question body contains it as a bonus question... :< I'd still say this shouldn't be closed as a duplicate of that answer because it's probably not as easy to find when searching for the etymology of イギリス. (?) – blutorange Mar 26 '15 at 09:06
  • @blutorange I don't know about what's normal on Japanese SE, but on other SE sites, something like this would often be closed. Closing as a duplicate still allows one to find the question in searches, so I don't see that being an issue. I personally don't care so much, but I guess you could ask on meta if you don't think it's a clear cut case. – Kimball Mar 26 '15 at 09:38
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    Opened a discussion on meta. – blutorange Mar 26 '15 at 11:05
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    I would argue that this question is more specific and does provide some semblance of a source (as the question is specifically etymology). I don't intent to imply that my answer has anything to do my opinion, just that I feel this is asking a more focussed question. – The Wandering Coder Mar 27 '15 at 00:06

1 Answers1

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After further research I can say that in fact, イギリス actually came from Portuguese and first appeared in the 日葡辞書【にっぽじしょ】 (Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam) compiled by a Jesuit Missionary in Nagasaki in 1603, the start of the Edo Period. It came from the Portuguese word inglês which would have been pronounced イグレス and after interactions with Great Britain, the word changed from イグレス to イギリス.

Sometimes you can hear an alternative explanation, such as here on chiebukuro　(Japanese). According to this link, イギリス came from the Dutch word (knowing no Dutch I assume to be a variant of Engels) which in Japanese was for some reason pronounced エゲリス. The interactions with the Dutch when discussing England happened during the Edo Period (AD1603 - AD1868) and after interactions with Great Britain, the word would have changed from エグリス to イギリス。

However, reflecting my research above, the person responding to the question at chiebukuro appears to be wrong.

For reference, the original explanation from chiebukuro:

江戸時代日本と唯一国交のあったオランダではイングランドの事をエゲレスと言った為それが変化してイギリスと呼ばれるようになったらしいです。

blutorange
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The Wandering Coder
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  • It is considered that the word "イギリス" came from the Portuguese word "Inglez", not Dutch. http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/10524/m0u/ – marasai Mar 26 '15 at 06:18
  • Your link only expressly defines English Bread (イギリスパン) as taken from Portuguese not the actual word イギリス on it's own. In fact, the first definition on the page states a Dutch connection whereas the English Bread article features no distinct time as to it's introduction. – The Wandering Coder Mar 26 '15 at 06:28
  • You should read a bolded headword. It clearly says "イギリス【(ポルトガル)Inglêz】". – marasai Mar 26 '15 at 06:33
  • I did, the bolded 'headword' is イギリスパン. The definition (without a date as to it's first use) is 《(和)Inglêz(ポルトガル)＋pão(ポルトガル)》. But nowhere does it say that was the ORIGIN of the word イギリス. It could be coincidental that words match when written in カタカナ like home ホーム and form ホーム. – The Wandering Coder Mar 26 '15 at 06:37
  • I'm afraid you have not. You've only read an example. http://imgur.com/m3862KO And this is the loanword manual of the dictionary. It says 「外来語については、日本に直接伝来したと考えられる原語を【 】内に掲げ、その言語名を付記した。」. – marasai Mar 26 '15 at 07:28
  • Although you point to the TITLE of the page, as said previously, the definition for イギリスパン does not include a time of origin. However, doing further research myself, I have found the first use of the word WAS from Portuguese and in fact first appears in the 日葡辞書 / Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam in 1603. Your second link says the same as the first link you gave again with no mention of the ORIGINS of first use. None of your links mentions any other than the word had a Portuguese transliteration. – The Wandering Coder Mar 26 '15 at 07:55
  • Cheers, for the edit and advice @blutorange. – The Wandering Coder Mar 26 '15 at 08:34
  • No problem, you're welcome. Comments are temporary and could be deleted / cleaned up; this makes it easier to understand the answer if you found it via google etc. ;) – blutorange Mar 26 '15 at 08:40
  • I'm finding an alternate explanation that the initial form was indeed エゲレス and it's ateji writing was 英吉利. This explaing where the 英 comes from wich is very hard to explain if イグレス is the original form. Maybe also they could have been using エゲレス and イグレス concurrently, before the choice of イギリス. – jmd Dec 11 '17 at 08:00
  • (belated reply) @jmd, the 英吉利 spelling originates from Chinese, and was the Chinese version of ateji. The Mandarin reading of Yīngjílì, or perhaps better the Cantonese of jing1 gat1 lei6 (Cantonese "j" here is pronounced like an English "y"), may have been based on a parsing of Portuguese Inglez, minus the final sibilant. So the phonetic mismatch between the on'yomi of 英 and the イ in イギリス is a bit of a red herring. – Eiríkr Útlendi Sep 18 '18 at 21:22