Etymology of Albion

 The toponym is thought to derive from the Greek word Ἀλβίων,[3] Latinised as Albiōn (genitive Albionis). It was seen in the Proto-Celtic nasal stem *Albiyū (oblique *Albiyon-) and survived in Old Irish as Albu (genitive Albann). The name originally referred to Britain as a whole, but was later restricted to Caledonia (giving the modern Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland: Alba).

The root *albiyo- is also found in Gaulish and Galatian albio- 'world' and Welsh elfydd (Old Welsh elbid 'earth, world, land, country, district'). It may be related to other European and Mediterranean toponyms such as Alpes, Albania or the river god Alpheus (originally 'whitish'). It has two possible etymologies: either from the Proto-Indo-European word *albʰo- 'white' (cf. Ancient Greek ἀλφός, Latin albus ), or from *alb- 'hill'.

The derivation from a word for 'white' is thought to refer perhaps to the white Cliffs of Dover in the southeast, visible from mainland Europe and a landmark at the narrowest crossing point. On the other hand, Celtic linguist Xavier Delamarre argued that it originally meant 'the world above, the visible world', in opposition to 'the world below', i.e. the underworld.[4][5][6]

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