guinea

Where does the word "guinea" come from? It comes from Berber aginaw, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1600s).

Guinea’s story begins in Berber: aginaw meant “black people, or land of the black people.” A Saharan Berber term used by North Africans for the peoples and lands south of the Sahara. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in Portuguese as Guine. Portuguese explorers adopted the North African term for the West African coast they were charting. It reached English by 1600s as guinea. Coins struck from West African gold, and the region's name, gave English 'guinea' for the coin, plus guinea fowl and guinea pig. Today, guinea means historically a British gold coin (still used as a unit of value in some pricing); the name also survives in 'guinea fowl' and 'guinea pig,' referencing West Africa.

1. Stage 1 · Berber · medieval aginaw "black people, or land of the black people", a Saharan Berber term used by North Africans for the peoples and lands south of the Sahara.
2. Stage 2 · Portuguese · 1400s Guine "the West African coastal region", Portuguese explorers adopted the North African term for the West African coast they were charting.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s guinea "a former English gold coin; also part of animal names like guinea fowl and guinea pig", coins struck from West African gold, and the region's name, gave English 'guinea' for the coin, plus guinea fowl and guinea pig.