The former name of the island nation now called Sri Lanka, located south of India in the Indian Ocean.
From Portuguese 'Ceilão,' which derived from Arabic 'Sarandīb' or Sanskrit 'Siṃhaladvīpa' meaning 'island of the Sinhalese.' The name changed officially in 1972 when the country became a republic.
Ceylon was renamed to Sri Lanka to reclaim its indigenous identity, but the old name lives on in 'Ceylon cinnamon' and 'Ceylon tea'—powerful spices that shaped colonial history!
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