Balearic Islands - Etymology

Etymology

The official name of the Balearic Islands in Catalan is Illes Balears, while in Spanish they are known as the Islas Baleares. The term "Balearic" derives from Greek (Γυμνησίαι/Gymnesiae and Βαλλιαρεῖς/Balliareis) and Latin (Baleares).

Of the various theories on the origins of the two ancient Greek and Latin names for the islands — Gymnasiae and Baleares — classical sources provide two.

According to the Lycophron's Alexandra verses, the islands were called Gymnesiae Γυμνησίαι (gymnos γυμνός, meaning naked in Greek) because its inhabitants were often nude, probably because of the year-round benevolent climate.

The Greek and Roman writers generally derive the name of the people from their skill as slingers (baleareis βαλεαρεῖς, from ballo βάλλω: ancient Greek meaning "to launch"), although Strabo regards the name as of Phoenician origin. He observed it was the Phoenician equivalent for lightly armoured soldiers the Greeks would have called gymnetas γυμνῆτας.

The root bal does point to a Phoenician origin; perhaps the islands were sacred to the god Baal; and the accidental resemblance to the Greek root ΒΑΛ (in βάλλω ballo), coupled with the occupation of the people, would provide sufficient foundation for the usual Greek practice of assimilating names to their own language. That it was not, however, Greek at first, one may infer with great probability from the fact that the common Greek name of the islands is not Βαλεαρεῖς (Baleareis), but Γυμνησίαι (Gymnesiai), the former being the name used by the natives, as well as by the Carthaginians and Romans. The latter name, for which two fancied etymologies have already been mentioned, probably derives from the light equipment of the Balearic troops (gymnetae γυμνῆται).