Iraq Definition

Origin of Iraq

• Possibly from Sumerian “Uruk” or “Warka” (Biblical “Erech”) region in the south of ancient Iraq. Medieval Arabic uses ‘Iraq’ as a geographical term for the area in the south and center of the modern Iraq. Some Arabic sources say that Iraq comes from عريق (ʕaríːq, “deep-rooted”), from عرق (ʕirq, “root”), while others say it is from Middle Persian's erāq (“lowlands”), due to historic rule from Iraq's plateau-situated neighbor, Persia.

  From Wiktionary