Mesopotamia
/mɛ.sə.pəˈteɪ.mɪ.ə/ proper noun
- proper noun (history) A geographic region in southwest Asia, spanning from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, located in modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeast Turkey; the site of one of the most ancient civilizations in the history of man.
- proper noun (history) A former province of the Roman Empire, existing from 116 to 117 AD and again from 198 to 637 AD.
- proper noun (history) The Mandate for Mesopotamia, a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1932, entrusted to the United Kingdom, that was the precursor to the independent state of Iraq.
- proper noun A geographic region in northeast Argentina, between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers.
- proper noun (UK, slang, obsolete) The Eaton Square district of London, England.
Etymology
From the Classical Latin Mesopotamia, from the Koine Greek Μεσοποταμία (Mesopotamía), a feminine substantive form of the adjective Μεσοποτάμιος (Mesopotámios, “between rivers”), from the Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos, “between”) + ποτᾰμός (potămós, “river”) + -ιος (-ios), so called because Mesopotamia is located between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The term is used as a translation of the Biblical Hebrew נַהֲרַיִם (naharáyim), the dual form of נָהָר (nahár, “river”).
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Mesopotamia”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details