etymythology for "Indian"?

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>Well, hmmm, <in> is not really a Spanish word, is it?

Right to the point. (Of course "in" is the Italian cognate, and Colombo was
an Italian, right?)

Here is a discussion: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgenteindios.html

Note that "Indus" = "Indian" (i.e., "[person] of India") in Latin (used by
Virgil and Ovid, according to the book), and "Indianus" = "Indian" also
existed. The southern astronomical constellation Indus ("the Indian",
referring to Amerinds apparently) was apparently invented around 1595. (SF
aficionados will recognize epsilon Indi as one of the candidate stars for
early extrasolar colonies etc. [only ~12 light-years away!])

-- Doug Wilson