arizona
/ˌæɹɪˈzoʊnə/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.38 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A state in the southwestern United States, established 1912. Capital: Phoenix.
name
Ellipsis of University of Arizona.
name
A territory of the southwest Confederate (1862–1865) and United States of America (1863–1912), with its capitals at Tucson, Prescott, and Phoenix.
name
A department of the northwest Second Mexican Empire (1863–1865), with its capital at Altar.
name
A unisex given name.
Example Sentences
- "A 15-year-old orphan is being forced from the Arizona senior community where he lives with his grandparents after the homeowner’s association said it could face legal issues if he stayed."
- "Videos on social media appear to show Arizona fans chanting “F**k the Mormons” after the 96-95 loss."
Etymology
Uncertain. Possibly from O'odham alĭ ṣonak (literally “small spring”) (traditionally through the Spanish intermediary form Arizonac; compare modern Arizona), a name initially applied to an area around a silver-mining camp in Sonora. Alternatively, perhaps from Basque haritz ona (literally “good oak”), as the area had many Basque herders, and a descendant of them established the ranchería of Arizona (circa 1735) in Sonora. Suggestions of derivation from *arizuma, supposedly a Nahuatl word meaning “silver-bearing”, are considered implausible, and derivation from árida zona (literally “dry zone”) is considered a folk etymology.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌæɹɪˈzoʊnə/
- British English: /ˌæɹɪˈzəʊnə/