Hellas

¹

[hel-uhs]

noun

1. an area in the southern hemisphere of Mars, appearing as a light region when viewed telescopically from the earth.

Hellas

²

[hel-uhs, e-lahs]

noun

1. ancient Greek name of Greece.

Hellas

/ ˈhɛləs /

noun

1. transliteration of the Ancient Greek name for Greece

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hellas¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Latin Hellas “northern Greece (as opposed to the Peloponnesus); the whole of Greece,” from Greek Hellás, a name applied to several places in ancient Greece, e.g., Dodona; a part of Phthiotis in Thessaly inhabited by the Myrmidons; a city in Thessaly; northern Greece (as opposed to the Peloponnesus); the Peloponnesus, Epirus, and Thessaly; all the lands occupied by the Hellenes, e.g., Magna Graecia; further origin uncertain