Geography - Regions and continents - Asia - Historical geography
What is the name “Asia” probably derived from?
Correct!
A common explanation traces the name “Asia” to the Akkadian word aṣu, roughly meaning “to rise” or “to come forth,” and associated with sunrise in the east. From a western perspective, Asia would therefore mean the “land of the rising sun,” or the east. The name later passed through Greek Asia and Latin Asia into European languages. Its origin is not certain, however. An important alternative theory connects Greek Asia with Assuwa, the name of a region or confederation in western Anatolia during the Bronze Age. What is certain is that the Greeks first used the name for areas east of the Aegean and later extended it to a much larger part of the continent.
Source: Springer Nature / Asia Rising
