Names of Indonesia Oceania and Maritime Southeast Asia. During that era, the East Indies portion now called "Indonesia" fell under Dutch colonial control and therefore was referred to as Dutch East Indies. Insulindia or Insulinde, is an archaic geographical term for Maritime Southeast Asia, encompassing the entire area situated between Australasia and Indochina. More common in Portuguese and Spanish, it is a combined word (portmanteau) from "insula" ("island") and "india" (India). "Indonesia" derives from the Latin and Greek "Indus" (Ἰνδός), and the Greek "nésos" (νῆσος), meaning "island". The name dates to the 18th century, far predating the formation of independent Indonesia. In 1850,
Name of Greece region of Asia Minor. In Greek, these forms have never normally been used to denote the whole Greek nation or Greece. In Sanskrit literature in India, the word यवन "yavana" is derived from this origin. It was used specifically for Greek people till 250BC while Indian kingdoms often traded with Greece. After Alexander's invasion on western borders of India, the word took a new meaning as foreigner or invader. The word यवन "yawan" meaning 'foreigner' is still in use in languages like Hindi, Marathi and Malayalam. The third major form, "Hellas" and its derivatives, is used by a few languages