Macau
Etymology

The first known written record of the name "Macau", rendered as "A Ma Gang" (亞/阿-媽/馬-港), is found in a letter dated 20 November 1555. The local inhabitants believed that the sea goddess Matsu (alternatively called A-Ma) had blessed and protected the harbour and referred to the waters around A-Ma Temple by her name. When Portuguese explorers first arrived in the area and asked for the place name, the locals thought they were asking about the temple and told them it was "Ma Kok" (媽閣). The earliest Portuguese spelling for this was Amaquão. Multiple variations were used until Amacão / Amacao and Macão / Macao became common during the 17th century.

The 1911 reform of Portuguese orthography standardised the spelling as Macau; however, the use of Macao persisted in English and other European languages.

The Macau Peninsula had many names in Chinese, including Jing'ao (井澳/鏡澳), Haojing (濠鏡), and Haojing'ao (濠鏡澳). The islands Taipa, Coloane, and Hengqin were collectively called Shizimen (十字門). These names would later become Ou mún (澳門), Aomen in Mandarin and translating as "bay gate" or "port gate", to refer to the whole territory.
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