# Illyria

> English word · Proper noun · frequency rank #77,790

## Definitions
1. A vaguely-defined geographic region in Southeast Europe in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula, approximately coincident with modern Albania.
2. A much larger former province of the Roman Empire, covering the whole of Dalmatia and Pannonia, existing from 27 BC to c. 70 AD and reconstituted in 293 AD by Diocletian.

## Etymology
From Latin Illyria, from Ancient Greek Ἰλλυρία (Illuría), which may be from Illyrian *Hullurio (“(place or tribe) of the serpent”), from Proto-Indo-European *udlós. This is supported by the attestation of Hílurios by Plautus in Menaechmi (200s BC).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/illyria