Etymology
The 17th century explorer John Byron is sometimes given credit for the naming. But it was not until much later than any sort of city was settled by the Chilean government (1843). The name Punta Arenas grew out of the Spanish term Punta Arenosa, which was a literal translation of the English name 'Sandy Point'. The city has also been known as "Magallanes" though today that term is normally used to describe the administrative region which includes the city. Punta Arenas has also been called "the city of the red roofs" for the red-painted metal roofs that characterised the city for many years, although since about 1970 the availability of other colours in protective finishes for the characteristic metal roofing has resulted in greater variety.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)