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Origin and history of Amazon

Amazon(n.)

late 14c., Amazones (plural) "race of female warriors in Scythia," via Old French (13c.) or Latin, from Greek Amazon (mostly in plural Amazonēs), which is probably from an unknown non-Indo-European word, or possibly from an Iranian compound *ha-maz-an- "(one) fighting together" [Watkins]. But in folk etymology it has been long derived from a- "without" + mazos, variant of mastos "breast;" hence the story that the Amazons cut or burned off one breast so they could draw bowstrings more efficiently.

Earlier in Middle English as Zamazinis "Amazons" (early 14c.). It was also used generally in early Modern English of female warriors; strong, tall, or masculine women; and the queen in chess.

The river in South America (originally called by the Spanish Rio Santa Maria de la Mar Dulce) was rechristened with this name by Francisco de Orellana, 1541, after an encounter with female warriors of the Tapuyas (or, as some say, beardless, long-haired male tribesmen). Others hold that the river name is a corruption of a native word in Tupi or Guarani meaning "wave."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to Amazon

Amazonian(adj.)

"bold, warlike," generally of women, 1590s, from Amazon + -ian. From 1847 in reference to the River Amazon.

glam(adj.)

slang shortening of glamorous, first attested 1936. Glam rock ("characterized by male performers dressed in glamorous clothes, with the suggestion of androgyny or sexual ambiguity" - OED, 1989), attested by 1974. Glamazon "glamourous, dominant woman" attested by 1985 (based on amazon).

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    virago
    late 14c., "man-like or heroic woman, woman of extraordinary stature, strength and courage," from Latin virago "female warrior, heroine, amazon," from vir "man" (from PIE root *wi-ro- "man"). Ælfric (c. 1000), following Vulgate, used it in Genesis ii.23 as the name Adam gave to E
    eldorado
    1590s, from Spanish El Dorado "the golden one," name given 16c. to the country or city believed to lie in the heart of the Amazon...
    Brazil
    early 14c., brasile, "brasilwood," name of a type of red wood from an East Indian tree, used in making dye (in modern times known as sappan-wood or Indian redwood), from Medieval Latin brasilium, Old French bresil, which probably is related to brese "embers," and like it from a G
    pure
    mid-13c., of gold, "unalloyed;" c. 1300 "unmixed, unadulterated; homogeneous," also "total, complete, absolute; bare, mere," also "sexually pure, virgin, chaste" (late 12c. as a surname, and Old English had purlamb "lamb without a blemish"), from Old French pur "pure, simple, abs
    woman
    "adult female human," late Old English wimman, wiman (plural wimmen), literally "woman-man," alteration of wifman (plural wifmen) "woman, female servant" (8c.), a compound of wif "woman" (see wife) + man "human being" (in Old English used in reference to both sexes; see man (n.))
    parrot
    bird of the family Psittacidae, widespread in the tropics and noted for beautiful plumage and a fleshy tongue, which gives it the ability to learn to articulate words and sentences, 1520s, a word of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal French perrot, from a variant of Pierre
    grief
    early 13c., "hardship, suffering, pain, bodily affliction," from Old French grief "wrong, grievance, injustice, misfortune, calamity" (13c.), from grever "afflict, burden, oppress," from Latin gravare "make heavy; cause grief," from gravis "weighty" (from PIE root *gwere- (1) "he
    survey
    c. 1400, surveien, "consider, contemplate," from Anglo-French surveier, Old French sorveoir "look (down) at, look upon, notice; guard, watch," from Medieval Latin supervidere "oversee, inspect," from Latin super "over" (see super-) + videre "to see" (from PIE root *weid- "to see"
    consistency
    1590s, "firmness of matter," from Medieval Latin consistentia   literally "a standing together," or directly from Latin consistentem (nominative consistens), present participle of consistere "to stand firm, take a standing position, stop, halt," from assimilated form of
    myth
    1830, from French mythe (1818) and directly from Modern Latin mythus, from Greek mythos "speech, thought, word, discourse, conversation; story, saga, tale, myth, anything delivered by word of mouth," a word of unknown origin. Beekes finds it "quite possibly Pre-Greek." Myths are

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