where the word asia comes from?
490448
The word Asia entered English, via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ασία (Asia; see also List of traditional Greek place names). This name is first attested in Herodotus (about 440 BC), where it refers to Asia Minor; or, for the purposes of describing the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire, in contrast to Greece and Egypt. Herodotus comments that he is puzzled as to why three different women's names are used to describe a single land mass (Europa, Asia and Libya, referring to Africa), stating that most Greeks assumed that Asia was named after the wife of Prometheus but that the Lydians say it was named after Asias, son of Cotys who passed the name on to a tribe in Sardis.\n\nEven before Herodotus, Homer knew of a Trojan ally named Asios, son of Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and elsewhere he describes a marsh as ασιος (Iliad 2, 461). The Greek term may be derived from Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in Western Anatolia. Hittite assu- "good" is probably an element in that name.\n\nAlternatively, the ultimate etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word (w)aṣû(m), cognate of Hebrew יצא, which means "to go out" or "to ascend", referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East, and also likely connected with the Phoenician word asa meaning east. This may be contrasted to a similar etymology proposed for Europe, as being from Semitic erēbu "to enter" or "set" (of the sun). However, this etymology is considered doubtful, because it does not explain the fact that the term "Asia" first came to be associated with Anatolia, which actually lies west of the Semitic speaking areas.
436828
I was also taught that there were 7:\n\nNorth America, South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Antarctica, Australia.\n\nI was a student in American schools. I have also heard of the "Eurasia" concept of combining Europe and Asia.  In truth Europe and Asia are ONE continent but because of cultural and physical reasons (meaning Race), early Europeans who first listed the continents wanted to distinguish themselves from Asians and declared Europe a separate continent.
939731
the word oriental usually is applied to an non living object, the word Asian applies to the people. it is offensive to call a person oriental.
41209
you mean eurasia\nit's a mix between continent europe and continent Asia
1088558
According to the English, it is derived from a place name indicating that they came from a place near the woods, or perhaps a grove of trees. My guess is that it is of Scandinavian origin and can be found all over Northern Europe.
866722
Asia...most of it lies within the Peoples Republic of China.
136860
The ancient Greeks believed Atlas, the giant who supported the Heavens, lived beyond the Columns of Hercules (today's Gibraltar). Thus the ocean beyond those columns came to be known as the Ocean of Atlas, or Atlantic.\n\nThe East Indies were a source of spices and precious materials for Europe and the Middle East since the IXth century. The people living in that area (modern Indonesia, India and Pakistan) were called "Indian" because they were native (indigenous) to that region. The ocean is named after them.\n\nThe Pacific was 'discovered' by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa around 1500. He noticed how calm the waters near the shore of Panama were, and wrongfully assumed the whole sea in front was just as calm. He called it Pacific.
959143
Europe, Asia and Africa
656142
It annoys me when people say there is continent called Australasia. Australasia is simply a geographic point. Oceania is not a continent. Aside from a region in FIFA for world cup soccer qualifiers we don't even use it in Australia. The continent is Australia. So I do agree with you. Oceania is not a continent and just for the record, Indonesia is in ASIA.
667330
It's bull. It comes from English's proto-Germanic root language, and many Northern European languages have similar words.
993488
AUSTRALIA\nThe name Australia is derived from the Latin australis, meaning southern. Legends of an "unknown southern land" (terra australis incognita) date back to the Roman times, and were commonplace in mediæval geography, but were not based on any actual knowledge of the continent. The Dutch adjectival form Australische ("Australian", in the sense of "southern") was used by Dutch officials in Batavia to refer to the newly discovered land to the south as early as 1638."\n\nASIA\n"The word Asia entered English via Latin from Ancient Greek, first attested in Herodotus, where it refers to Asia Minor, or for the purposes of the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire as opposed to Greece and Egypt. Homer knows a Trojan ally named Asios, son of Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and also describes a marsh as 461).\nThe Greek term was likely from Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in ancient Anatolia. Hittite assu- "good" is a likely element in that name. Elamites numeous in the east called themselves As, and at least one Aryan people on the central Eurasian steppes called themselves Asi. Alternatively, the ultimate etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word asu, which means "to go out" or "to rise", referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East. Compare to this the suggestion for the etymology of Europe from Semitic erebu "to set". The motives for the names of Asia and Europe would thus mirror each other, much like the terms orient and occident (the names Anatolia and Levant likewise signify "sunrise"). This suggestion is widely quoted, but it suffers from the fact that Anatolia from an Akkadian or generally Semitic perspective does not lie in the east."\n\nAFRICA\n"The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — "land of the Afri" (plural, or "Afer" singular) — for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia.\nThe origin of Afer may either come from: the Phoenician `afar, dust; \nthe Afri, a tribe—possibly Berber—who dwelt in North Africa in the Carthage area; \nthe Greek word aphrike, meaning without cold (see also List of traditional Greek place names); \nor the Latin word aprica, meaning sunny. \nThe historian Leo Africanus (1495-1554) attributed the origin to the Greek word phrike (meaning "cold and horror"), combined with the negating prefix a-, so meaning a land free of cold and horror. But the change of sound from ph to f in Greek is datable to about the first century, so this cannot really be the origin of the name.\n\nEgypt was considered part of Asia by the ancients, and first assigned to Africa by the geographer Ptolemy (85 - 165 AD), who accepted Alexandria as Prime Meridian and made the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge\n\nEUROPE\n"In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted by Zeus in bull form and taken to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to Minos. For Homer, Europa was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later Europa stood for mainland Greece and by 500 BC its meaning was extended to lands to the north."\n\nTHE AMERICAS:\n"The earliest known use of the name America for the continents of the Americas dates from 1507. It appears on a globe and a large map created by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. An accompanying book, Cosmographiae Introductio, explains that the name was derived from the Latinized version of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form, America, as the other continents all have Latin feminine na
940720
EUROPE:/ EUROPA\n"In Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess who was abducted by Zeus in bull form and taken to the island of Crete, where she gave birth to Minos. For Homer, Europa was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later Europa stood for mainland Greece and by 500 BC its meaning was extended to lands to the north."\n\nAFRICA:\n"The name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra - "land of the Afri" (plural, or "Afer" singular) - for the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, corresponding to modern-day Tunisia.\n\nThe origin of Afer may either come from:\n\nthe Phoenician `afar, dust; \nthe Afri, a tribe-possibly Berber-who dwelt in North Africa in the Carthage area; \nthe Greek word aphrike, meaning without cold (see also List of traditional Greek place names); \nor the Latin word aprica, meaning sunny. \nThe historian Leo Africanus (1495-1554) attributed the origin to the Greek word phrike (meaning "cold and horror"), combined with the negating prefix a-, so meaning a land free of cold and horror. But the change of sound from ph to f in Greek is datable to about the first century, so this cannot really be the origin of the name.\n\nEgypt was considered part of Asia by the ancients, and first assigned to Africa by the geographer Ptolemy (85 - 165 AD), who accepted Alexandria as Prime Meridian and made the isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea the boundary between Asia and Africa. As Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge."\n\nASIA:\n"The word Asia entered English via Latin from Ancient Greek, first attested in Herodotus, where it refers to Asia Minor, or for the purposes of the Persian Wars, to the Persian Empire as opposed to Greece and Egypt. Homer knows a Trojan ally named Asios, son of Hyrtacus, a ruler over several towns, and also describes a marsh as 461).\n\nThe Greek term was likely from Assuwa, a 14th century BC confederation of states in ancient Anatolia. Hittite assu- "good" is a likely element in that name. Elamites numeous in the east called themselves As, and at least one Aryan people on the central Eurasian steppes called themselves Asi. Alternatively, the ultimate etymology of the term may be from the Akkadian word asu, which means "to go out" or "to rise", referring to the direction of the sun at sunrise in the Middle East. Compare to this the suggestion for the etymology of Europe from Semitic erebu "to set". The motives for the names of Asia and Europe would thus mirror each other, much like the terms orient and occident (the names Anatolia and Levant likewise signify "sunrise"). This suggestion is widely quoted, but it suffers from the fact that Anatolia from an Akkadian or generally Semitic perspective does not lie in the east."\n\nTHE AMERICAS:\n"The earliest known use of the name America for the continents of the Americas dates from 1507. It appears on a globe and a large map created by the German cartographer Martin WaldseemÃŒller in Saint-DiÃ©-des-Vosges. An accompanying book, Cosmographiae Introductio, explains that the name was derived from the Latinized version of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form, America, as the other continents all have Latin feminine names. \nA few alternative theories regarding the continents' naming have been proposed, but none of them have any widespread acceptance. One alternative first proposed by a Bristol antiquary and naturalist, Alfred Hudd, was that America is derived from Richard Amerike, a merchant from Bristol, who is believed to have financed John Cabot's voyage of discovery from England to Newfoundland in 1497. Supposedly, Bristol fishermen had been visiting the coast of North America for at least a
785803
Geographically speaking, yes, but the term "Asian" is predominantly used for people who are from the Pacific Rim, China, Japan, Korea, etc.  You are Asian just like a white person whose parents are from South Africa is an African-American.  See what I'm saying?
612591
The part of Asia referred to as South Asia is divided from the rest of Asia both in north and south. Towards the north, it is divided by the Great Mountain wall consisting of the Himalayan Ranges and some other smaller hill ranges running parallel to each other and all of them arise from the Pamir knot.\n\nTowards the south it is divided by the Water bodies consisting of Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean.
1051820
Sounds hokkien, which i'm supposed to know but i don't. Need to tell me where you heard it from.
754712
Asia\nAfrica\nNorth America\nSouth America\nAntarctica\nEurope\nAustralia.
176846
UMMMMMMMMMM......... ASIA................. D'UH!!!!!!!!!!