# Belize
## English
### Etymology

The origin of the name Belize is debated and marked by various theories. One contested hypothesis suggests a derivation from Peter Wallace, a Scottish corsair whose name may have evolved into "Belize" through Spanish pronunciation, though modern scholars dismiss this as a colonial myth. Another possibility points to a Maya origin, from the word balix or belix, meaning "muddy waters," likely referring to the Belize River. Early 18th-century cartographic records show variations such as Balesia and Belleze. Another Maya theory links the name to the phrase Bel Itza, meaning "road to Itzá," possibly referring to the Maya kingdom of Petén Itzá in present-day Guatemala.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bəˈliːz/, /bɛlˈiːz/, /beɪlˈiːz/
* Audio (UK):(file)
* Audio (US):(file)
* Homophone: balise (one pronunciation)
* Rhymes: -iːz

### Proper noun

Belize
* An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras.

#### Derived terms

* Belizean
* Belize City
* Belize dollar
* Belize River
* BZD

#### Translations
### See also

* Belize
* Costa Rica
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Nicaragua
* Panama

### References

* ↑ Restall, Matthew (2019 January 2) “Creating “Belize”: The Mapping and Naming History of a Liminal Locale”, in Terrae Incognitae‎, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, retrieved 2024-11-28, pages 5–35

## Asturian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /beˈliθe/ [beˈli.θe]

### Proper noun

Belize m
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Breton
### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Catalan
### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [bəˈli.zə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [beˈli.ze]
* Audio (Valencia):(file)

### Proper noun

Belize m
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbɛlɪzɛ]
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Belize n (indeclinable, relational adjective belizský, demonym Belizan)
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

### Further reading

* “Belize”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

## Danish
### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Dutch
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌbeːˈliː.zə/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: Be‧li‧ze
* Rhymes: -iːzə

### Proper noun

Belize n
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

### Anagrams

* beziel, blieze

## Estonian
### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Finnish
### Etymology

From English Belize, from Spanish Belice.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈbelitse/, [ˈbe̞lits̠e̞]
* IPA: /ˈbelize/, [ˈbe̞lize̞]
* IPA: /ˈbelise/, [ˈbe̞lis̠e̞]
* Rhymes: -elitse
* Hyphenation: Be‧li‧ze

### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Declension

Possessive forms of Belize (Kotus type 8/nalle, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Belizeni
accusative
nom.
Belizeni
gen.
Belizeni
genitive
Belizeni
partitive
Belizeäni
inessive
Belizessäni
elative
Belizestäni
illative
Belizeeni
adessive
Belizelläni
ablative
Belizeltäni
allative
Belizelleni
essive
Belizenäni
translative
Belizekseni
abessive
Belizettäni
instructive
comitative
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Belizesi
accusative
nom.
Belizesi
gen.
Belizesi
genitive
Belizesi
partitive
Belizeäsi
inessive
Belizessäsi
elative
Belizestäsi
illative
Belizeesi
adessive
Belizelläsi
ablative
Belizeltäsi
allative
Belizellesi
essive
Belizenäsi
translative
Belizeksesi
abessive
Belizettäsi
instructive
comitative
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Belizemme
accusative
nom.
Belizemme
gen.
Belizemme
genitive
Belizemme
partitive
Belizeämme
inessive
Belizessämme
elative
Belizestämme
illative
Belizeemme
adessive
Belizellämme
ablative
Belizeltämme
allative
Belizellemme
essive
Belizenämme
translative
Belizeksemme
abessive
Belizettämme
instructive
comitative
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Belizenne
accusative
nom.
Belizenne
gen.
Belizenne
genitive
Belizenne
partitive
Belizeänne
inessive
Belizessänne
elative
Belizestänne
illative
Belizeenne
adessive
Belizellänne
ablative
Belizeltänne
allative
Belizellenne
essive
Belizenänne
translative
Belizeksenne
abessive
Belizettänne
instructive
comitative
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
Belizensä
accusative
nom.
Belizensä
gen.
Belizensä
genitive
Belizensä
partitive
Belizeään Belizeänsä
inessive
Belizessään Belizessänsä
elative
Belizestään Belizestänsä
illative
Belizeensä
adessive
Belizellään Belizellänsä
ablative
Belizeltään Belizeltänsä
allative
Belizelleen Belizellensä
essive
Belizenään Belizenänsä
translative
Belizekseen Belizeksensä
abessive
Belizettään Belizettänsä
instructive
comitative

#### Derived terms

* belizeläinen

## French
### Alternative forms

* Bélize

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /be.liz/
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Belize m
* Alternative form of Bélize: Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

### Anagrams

* bêliez

## German
### Etymology

Borrowed from English Belize.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bəˈliːs/
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Belize n (proper noun, strong, genitive Belize')
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Derived terms

* Belizer
* belizisch

## Hungarian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbɛliz]
* Hyphenation: Be‧lize
* Rhymes: -iz

### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Derived terms

* belize-i

### See also

* Belize
* Costa Rica
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Salvador
* ↑ The Hungarian term may also refer to Middle America in the political and human geographical sense, including Mexico—Mexikó—and the West Indies. For the latter, see Nagy-Antillák, Kis-Antillák, Bahama-szigetek, Turks- és Caicos-szigetek.

### References

* ↑ Laczkó, Krisztina with Attila Mártonfi (2006) Helyesírás [Orthography], Budapest: Osiris Kiadó, →ISBN

## Interlingua
### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Italian
### Proper noun

Belize m
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Norwegian Bokmål
### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Related terms

* belizer
* belizisk

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Related terms

* belizar
* belizisk

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛˈli.zɛ/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -izɛ
* Syllabification: Be‧li‧ze

### Proper noun

Belize n (indeclinable, related adjective belizeński)
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)
* Belize City (the largest city in Belize)

#### Derived terms

* belizenka
* Belizenka
* belizeńczyk
* Belizeńczyk

### See also

* Belize
* Gwatemala
* Honduras
* Kostaryka
* Nikaragua
* Panama
* Salwador

### Further reading

* Belize in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /beˈli.zi/
* (Brazil) IPA: /beˈli.zi/
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /beˈli.ze/
* (Portugal) IPA: /bɨˈli.zɨ/
* Hyphenation: Be‧li‧ze

### Proper noun

Belize m or f
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Romanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /beˈli.ze/
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /běliːze/

### Proper noun

Bèlīze m (Cyrillic spelling Бѐлӣзе)
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Declension

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

## Swedish
### Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish Belice (atttested since 1677) as the name of the Belize River, probably from Mayan/Mopan Maya beliz (“muddy water”).

### Proper noun

Belize n (genitive Belizes)
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Related terms

* belizisk (“Belizean”, adjective)
* belizier c (“Belizean male”)
* beliziska c (“Belizean female”)

### References

* Belize in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* Svensk MeSH

## Turkish
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

Belize
* Belize (An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras)

#### Declension
### See also

* Belize
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* Kosta Rika
* Nikaragua
* Panama