WikiWord

English

Easter Island

name

Meaning

  1. An island in the South Pacific, belonging to Chile and famous for its moai monuments.

Etymology / origin

Calque of Dutch Paaseiland. Named by the island's first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday 1722. Roggeveen named it Paasch-Eyland (an 18th century Dutch spelling). The island's official Spanish name, isla de Pascua, also means “Easter Island”.

Sources

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