Chania
name
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A city, the capital of Chania regional unit, on the island of Crete, Greece.
- 2 A regional unit of Crete, around the city.
Etymology
From Latin Chania, from Byzantine Greek Χανιά (Khaniá), from Arabic الخان (al-ḵān) + -ιά (-iá, “-ia: forming place names”), literally from ال (al-, “the, place of the”) + خان (ḵān, “caravanserai, inn”) but possibly transliterating a neighborhood whose named derived from its former importance in the worship of the Minoan god Velchanos, whose Minoan name was transcribed into Ancient Greek as Ϝελχάνος (Welkhános).