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Meaning & History
From Spanish Filipinas, which was derived from the given name Felipe, bestowed in 1543 in honour of the crown prince Philip (later king Philip II) of Spain by the explorer Ruy López de Villalobos, who originally used it only to refer to the islands of Leyte and Samar. It now refers to the entire archipelago and nation of the Philippines in southeastern Asia. In English it is usually referred to using the definite article, the.