Illyria
proper noun
- proper noun (historical) A vaguely-defined geographic region in Southeastern Europe in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, approximately coincident with modern Albania.
- proper noun (historical) A much larger former province of the Roman Empire, covering the whole of Dalmatia and Pannonia, existing from 27 BC to c. 70 AD and reconstituted in 293 AD by Diocletian.
Etymology
From Latin Illyria, from Ancient Greek Ἰλλυρία (Illuría), which may be from Illyrian *Hullurio (“(place or tribe) of the serpent”), from Proto-Indo-European *udlós. This is supported by the attestation of Hílurios by Plautus in Menaechmi (200s BC).
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Illyria”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details