What does Patagonia mean?

Answer 1

The origin of the name "Patagonia"

Patagonia was discovered by the Portuguese explorer Hernando de Magallanes - Magellan, who seeking a route to the Asian Spice Islands sailed along its coast and wintered in 1520 at a barren inlet that he named San Julián - Saint Julian- (49°20' S, 67°43' W).

It was there, at San Julián, that the Europeans first set foot on this wonderful land and met the native Tehuelche (which many would later consider as giants).

Magellan's chronicler, Francesco Antonio Pigafetta (1491-1535) immortalized them as the gigantic "Patagons" and their territory as "Patagonia", the "Land of the Patagons". We will soon post about the Patagonian Giants.

In his 1525 book, Relazione Del Primo Viaggio Intorno Al Mondo (Report on the First Voyage around the World), Pigafetta laconically explained the origin of their strange name in one brief phrase: "Il capitano generale nominò questi popoli Patagoni" - The captain general [Magellan] named these people Patagoni. No further explanation was given.[1]

In 1551, a contemporary of Pigafetta, Spanish historian Francisco López de Gomara wrote that they were called Patagons because they had "misshapen feet".[2]
This version was to be perpetuated by all later historians. Patagon had been taken to mean big feet ("pata" is the Spanish word for leg, foot).

It now seems that the word comes from a chivalric novel, Primaleón, popular back in the early 1500s. It described a monstrous character named Patagón. Magellan is believed to have read the book and when faced with the Patagonian natives, found their large fur clad bodies, boots, guanaco skin toldos, bows and arrows as virtually identical to those of Primaleón's Patagón, who was described in the novel as a savage wild man-beast, covered with furs that had a dog-face and hunted animals with bow and arrow.[3]

New and original explanation to the origin of the name Patagón.

In my research (I am writing a book on Patagonia's mythical monsters), I have found a text that offers another version to the origin of the name. As I have not come across any other references to this particular text, I believe that it has been overlooked in the past, so let me share my discovery with you:

This text dates back to 1577, when the Patagonian coast was visited by English Admiral and Privateer Sir Francis Drake. Upon returning to England his Chaplain, Francis Fletcher, wrote about seeing "men in height and greatnes are so extraordinary that they hold no comparison with anny of the sones of men this day in the world" [sic].[4]

Besides noting their gigantic size, he also quantified their height and their name: "the name Pentagones, Fiue cubits, viz., 7 foote and halfe [2,29 m] describing the full height […] of the highest of them".[5]

This name Pentagones gives an intriguing alternative explanation to the origin of their name ("penta" is Greek for five), and we add that Magellan being Portuguese would have said "côvado" for cubit -in Spanish it is "codo") resulting in penta-covado or penta-codo which Pigafetta may have interpreted as the similar sounding Patagón.

(Straight from my blog on Patagonian Monsters) Copyright 2009 by Austin Whittall.

Bibliography

[1] Pigafetta, A., (1899). Primer Viaje Alrededor del Mundo. Madrid. 1899. pp. 11+
[2] Rivadeneryra, M., (1858). Historiadores Primitivos de Indias. Madrid. pp. 214.
[3] de Orduna, L., (2004). Libro Segundo de Palmerín, que trata de los grandes fechos de Primaleon... 1524. Kassel: Reichenberger. pp. 626.
[4] Drake, F. and Fletcher, F., (1854). The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake…Collated with an Unpublished Manuscript of Francis Fletcher.... London: Hakluyt Society. pp. 51.
[5] FitzRoy, R., (1839). Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836.... London: Henry Colburn. v.ii. pp. 61.