Name of Australia

Not to be confused with Name of Austria.
Look up Australia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

1570 map by Abraham Ortelius depicting Terra Australis Nondum Cognita as a large continent on the bottom of the map and also an Arctic continent
The name "Austrialia" was used for the first time by Queirós – on 1 May 1606 Tridentine calendar[1][2][3] or May 3 Roman Calendar.
Austrialia was altered or 'corrected' to Australia over time (one example shown).[4]
Image with text reading: The vast Island or rather Continent of Australia, Astralasia, or New Holland, which has so lately attracted the particular attention of European navigators and naturalists, seems to abound in scenes of peculiar wildness and fertility; while the wretched natives of many of those dreary districts seem less elevated above the inferior animals than in any other part of the known world; Caffraria itself not excepted; as well as less endued
The name Australia was specifically applied to the continent for the first time in 1794.[5]

The name Australia (pronounced /əˈstreɪliə/ in Australian English[6]) is derived from the Latin australis, meaning 'southern', and specifically from the hypothetical Terra Australis postulated in pre-modern geography. The name was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders from 1804, and it has been in official use since 1817, replacing "New Holland", an English translation of the Dutch name, first given by Abel Tasman in 1643 as the name for the continent.

  1. ^ "He named it Austrialia del Espiritu Santo and claimed it for Spain" The Spanish quest for Terra Australis | State Library of New South Wales Page 1.
  2. ^ "before reaching the New Hebrides or what he called Austrialis del Espiritu Santo on 3 May 1606" Quiros, Pedro Fernandez de (1563–1615) Para 4 | Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  3. ^ Cartouche of La Gran Baya de S. Philippe y S. Santiago, Prado y Tovar ca.1606-1614 (España. Ministerio de Cultura. Archivo General de Simancas).
  4. ^ Gerritsen, Rupert (2013). "A note on 'Australia' or 'Austrialia'" (PDF). The Globe. 72: 23. Posesion en nombre de Su Magestad (Archivo del Museo Naval, Madrid, MS 951.
  5. ^ "First Instance of the Word Australia being applied specifically to the Continent - in 1794" Zoology of New Holland – Shaw, George, 1751–1813; Sowerby, James, 1757–1822 Page 2.
  6. ^ Australian pronunciations: Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3