original: etymology the first person who used the term " seidenstraße " -lrb- literally " silk road " -rrb- was the german geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877 .
simplifications: german geographer ferdinand von richthofen was the first person to use the word " seidenstraße " -lrb- literally " silk road " -rrb- in 1877 . the first person who used the term " silk road " in german was named etymology in 1877 . the first person who used the term " seidenstraße " -lrb- literally " silk road " -rrb- was the german geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877 . from etymology , the first person who used the term " seidenstraße " -lrb- literally " silk road " -rrb- was the german geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877 . etymology the first person who used the term " seidenstraße " -lrb- literally " silk road " -rrb- was the german geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877 . etymology : the first person who used the term " seidenstraße " -lrb- literally " silk road " -rrb- was the german geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877 . he first person who used the term silk road was the german geographer ferdinand von richthofen in 1877 . students of etymology , the study of words and their roots , note that it was the german geographer , ferdinand von richthofen , who in 1877 , was the first person to use the word " seidenstrabe , " literally the " silk road .