Etymology

Etymology[edit]

Main article: Names of Sri Lanka

In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names. Known in India as Lanka or Sinhala , ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobane^[17] /təˈprɒbəniː/ and Arabs referred to it as Serendib (the origin of the word "serendipity").^[18] Ceilão, the name given to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they arrived in 1505,^[19] was transliterated into English as Ceylon.^[20] As a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon; it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948.
In Sinhala the country is known as ශ්‍රී ලංකා śrī laṃkā, IPA: [ʃɾiːˈlaŋkaː].In Tamil they are both இலங்கை ilaṅkai, IPA: [iˈlaŋɡai]. In 1972 the name was changed to "Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka".Later in 1978 it was changed to the "Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka".^[21] As the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government had announced a plan to rename all those over which it has authority.^[22]