Hibernia

Hibernia (Latin: [(h)ɪˈbɛr.n̪i.a]) is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (c. 320 BC), Pytheas of Massalia called the island Iérnē (written Ἰέρνη).^{[citation needed]} In his book Geographia (c. 150 AD), Claudius Ptolemaeus ("Ptolemy") called the island Iouerníā (written Ἰουερνία, where "ου"/ou stands for w)^{[citation needed]}. The Roman historian Tacitus, in his book Agricola (c. 98 AD), uses the name Hibernia.

Ἰουερνία Iouerníā was a Greek rendering of the Q-Celtic name *Īweriū, from which eventually arose the Irish names Ériu and Éire. The name was altered in Latin (influenced by the word hībernus) as though it meant "land of winter", although the word for winter began with a long 'i'.^[1]