Etymology of Argentina

Argentina (an Italian adjective meaning "silvery") is ultimately derived from the Latin argentum "silver" and the feminine of the adjectival suffix -inus. The first use of the name Argentina can be traced back to the first voyages made by the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors to the Río de la Plata (meaning "River of Silver") in the first years of the 16th century.

There is an occurrence of Argentina being used as the name of a woman, in Wiltshire, in 1424 – the wife of John Bulford, of Mere Wiltshire, England.

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