The State of Visayan Islands, also known as Visayan Islands, Visayas State, or simply Visayas, is a federal state within the Federal Republic of the Philippines, occupying the entire Visayan islands. Located in the central part of the archipelago, it consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are also considered the northeast extremity of the entire Sulu Sea. Its inhabitants are predominantly the Visayan peoples. Cebu City is the state's capital and largest city, which also lies within the urban capital area of Metro Cebu in Cebu Island. The city of Bacolod in Negros Island is the second largest city.
The meaning of the name of the Visayas is unknown however the word itself derives from Sanskrit. The word "Bisaya" was first documented in Spanish sources in reference only to the non-Ati inhabitants of the island of Panay and possibly parts of Negros. The peoples they first encountered in Western Visayas were described by the Spanish as being "white people" and were not characterized as being tattooed, although inhabitants of Panay living in the mountainous regions did practice tattooing. In contrast, the Spaniards called the inhabitants of other Visayan islands as the Pintados ("the painted ones") in reference to their practice of tattooing their entire bodies.