The term "Mayotte" (or Maore) may refer to all of the department's islands, of which the largest is known as Maore () and includes Maore's surrounding islands, most notably Pamanzi (), or only to the largest island. The name is believed to come from "Mawuti", contraction of the Arabic جزيرة الموت "Jazīrat al-Mawt" – meaning "island of death" (maybe due to the dangerous reefs circling the island) and corrupted to "Mayotta" in Portuguese, later turned into French. However, the local name is "Mahore", and the Arabic etymology is doubtful.