Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Old World
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{short description|Synonym of Afro-Eurasia}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2013}} [[File:LocationAfricaEurasia.png|thumb|{{leftlegend|#23600F|Old World|outline=white}}]] [[File:Cosmographia Claudii Ptolomaei ante 1467 (7455943) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Map of the "Old World" (the 2nd-century [[Ptolemy world map]] in a 15th-century copy)]] [[File:T and O map Guntherus Ziner 1472.jpg|thumb|right|This [[T and O map]], from the first printed version of [[Isidore of Seville|Isidore]]'s ''[[Etymologiae]]'' ([[Augsburg]], 1472), identifies the three known continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) as respectively populated by descendants of ''Sem'' ([[Shem]]), ''Iafeth'' ([[Japheth]]) and ''Cham'' ([[Ham (son of Noah)|Ham]]).]] The "'''Old World'''" ({{Langx|la|Mundus vetus}}) is a term for [[Afro-Eurasia]] coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the [[Americas]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/old-world?show=2&t=1417643287 |title=Old World |publisher=[[Merriam-Webster]] |access-date=3 December 2014 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402221403/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/old-world?show=2&t=1417643287 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the [[Eastern Hemisphere]], previously thought of by the Europeans as comprising the entire world, with the "[[New World]]", a term for the newly encountered lands of the [[Western Hemisphere]], particularly the Americas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new%20world |title=New world |publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-date=2 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402204654/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/New |url-status=live }}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)