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This is a list of original meanings of the names used by countries, and additionally the original meaning of their names in English (where different). Several countries names may be interpreted in more than one way; several other countries have a name in more than one official language. America (United States of) America Land of Americo Amerigo Vespucci was an explorer and cartographer who traveled in the Americas. He is also credited by some with drawing the first maps of North and South America. For an in-depth explanation see: Americas#Naming of America The term "United States" is self-explanatory; it was possibly in part inspired by the common use of the term "United Kingdom" to describe the Kingdom of Great Britain (1701-1800). Bearing in mind the presence of Dutch colonial heritage (e.g. New Amsterdam), "United States" may also have been inspired by the common use of the term United Provinces to describe the Republic of the Seven United Low Countries (1581-1795). However some believe the name United States was an obvious name and is in no way related to the use of "united" in the names of countries from which the Americans were descended. Argentina Argentina Land of silver The name is a reference to the River Plate, in Spanish Río de la Plata, which means River of Silver. The river was believed to have much silver upstream, but these hopes proved to be largely unfounded. For an in-depth explanation see: Origin and history of the name of Argentina Angola Angola: Land of Rulers The name is a reference to the tiltle ngola, used by the rulers of Ndongo Kingdom, in northern region of the present Angola territory. The Angles (genitive case, 'Engla/Englas') were the most numerous of the four Germanic peoples who emigrated to Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, initially at the invitation of Welsh chiefs who needed help fending off the Picts after the Roman legions withdrew in 410 CE. They are believed to have originated in Angeln, at the pinacle of the boomerang-shaped area of modern Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany, which is at the base of the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark. The Angles combined with the Saxons and Jutes in England, as well as native celts, to form the Anglo-Saxon ethnic group. Of the four Germanic peoples, the Saxons or "Seaxonas" settled in the south of Britain, from the Thames estuary westward, establishing kingdoms that bore the Saxon name: Essex (East Saxon), Sussex (South Saxon), Middlesex (Middle Saxon) and, of course, Wessex (West Saxon). The Angles or "Englas" settled along the North Sea coast, between the Thames and the Firth of Forth, inland to North Wales (modern Wales) and Strathclyde Wales (modernly the west coast and inland of Britain from Liverpool to Glasgow). The principal Anglian kingdoms were East Anglia (Suffolk and Norfolk), Northumberland (old Yorkshire to modern Edinburgh) and the massive central kingdom of Mercia. Jutes, whose origin is uncertain settled mostly in East Anglia, while Frisians (from Friesland in the north of the modern Netherlands and the adjacent far-northwestern Germany) settled along the south coast from Kent to Hampshire, and the lower east coast from Kent to East Anglia. Kent, originally 'Cant' (thus, 'Canterbury' meaning "Cantish-" or "Kentish-Town"), was the first of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and the only one in which all four Germanic ethnic groups were represented. The native Britons, however, came to be called 'Wealasc' (Welsh, in Modern English), meaning "foreigners" and were pushed westward into Cornwall (West Wales), Wales (North Wales) and Strathclyde Wales (now divided between Scotland and England), while some were pushed off the island entirely and ended up giving their name - Breizh - to the northwesternmost peninsula in France, as "Bretagne" (compare 'Grand Bretagne,' meaning "Great Britain") or "Britany." When England was confederated in 802, it was under the Saxon King Egbert of Wessex. The capital was Winchester and the official language was the Late West Saxon dialect of Old English. The confederacy was otherwise dominated by Angles (pronounced "AHNg-less" in all dialects of Old English), however, so it bore the name 'Engla Land.' With the Norman Conquest of 1066, the capital was moved to London and the official language changed to Norman French for the next 300 years. The culture and language of pre-Norman England are called "Old English" or "Anglo-Saxon" - the latter term reflecting the numerical dominance of the Angles and the political dominance of the Saxons during that period. Certain distinctions between Anglian and Saxon speech are still visible in Modern English, by dialectal preservation of "Englisc" (Anglian) and "Seaxonsic" (Saxon) words unchanged (or nearly so) since the Old English period: Saxon: one, once, two, stomp, farther, long, (eld)/elder/eldest (Late West Saxon: ield/ieldra, etc.) Anglian: a/an/ane, ance/aince, twa, stamp, further, lang, old/older/oldest (Anglian: ald/alder/aldest; survives in Scots as 'auld/aulder/auldest,' viz. Auld Lang Syne; and in Modern English words like 'alderman,' which means "older person"). France Main article: Name of France. France: Land of the Free The name France originates from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that occupied the region after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. This tribe had changed their name to "Franks" in 11 BC, following their defeat and relocation by Drusus, under the leadership of a certain chieftain called Franko. The ethnonym has also been traced to a Germany Germany Land of the Neighbours, Relatives Deutschland Land of the Human Beings Germany comes from Old Irish ghéarmáin (read "YARE-mahn"), meaning "neighbours" or "relatives" via Latin "Germania" (hence, Spanish 'hermano/hermana', "brother/sister," from 'germano/germana'). Germania thus means "Land of the Neighbours" or "Land of the Relatives" (i.e., related peoples). India India is known officially as "India" or "Bhārat"; Bhārata and Hindustan are other widely used terms in India. India: Land of the River Indus (This river is now in Pakistan.) Bhārat (also Bhārata, Bhāratavarsha, or Bharatvarsha) Meaning unknown:
In all these cases, the names of kings called Bharata or tribes named Bharat derive from "Bhārata" as an an alternative name for "Agni", the Vedic demigod of fire. The epithet may originally mean "the Bearer" or "the Sustainer". Hindustan (also spelt Hindoostan or Hindoustan) : Land of the River Indus (Essentially same origin as India; "-stan" means "land", "country", in several Asian languages) For an in-depth explanation of all these names, and others, see: Etymology of India Indonesia Archipelago of India Indo: India; reference to the Indies (Asia) and Indian Ocean Nesos: islands Ireland Ireland Land of Ir, Land of Éire According to legend, King Milesius of Galicia dispatched his sons Heremon, Heber and Ir to conquer Ireland. Ir was killed and so the island was named in his honour. But this legend only works in English, and the Irish name of the island is Éire. Éire is the name a Celtic goddess - specifically, of the goddess who personifies Ireland (as Britannia personifies Britain). The Old Irish form of the name, Ériu, apparently comes from the Common Celtic Ibhériu (read "ee-VARE-ee-oo"); or in Latin, "Iberia." If the etymology is true, it would lend support to Galicia and the Iberian Peninsula as the ancient homeland of the Irish. Namibia Namibia: Means "Wide open Chest" Scotland Scotland: Land of the Scots (literally, "Land of the Raiders") The Latin word Scottis means "raiders" and original applied to the Irish, before the colonised Scotland. The Roman name for the island of Ireland was Hibernia but Scotia referred to Ireland as the "Land of the Raiders." The Roman name for Scotland, in the days when it bordered the province of "Britannia," was Caledonia. The Irish began to colonise western Caledonia at the end of the Roman period in Britain, with the result that Scotia came to be applied the Irish areas of Caledonia, and it was that Latin name (instead of Caledonia) that the early English learned as they colonised Great Britain - thus, they called the country 'Scot Land' while Old Irish Eriu became "Ira Land." Eventually, the label 'Scotia' applied exclusively to Scotland. Scottish kings adopted the Latin title Basileus Scottorum or Rex Scottorum (meaning "King of the Scots Lands"), and Rex Scotiae (King of Scots) sometime in the 11th century. This was likely influenced by the style Imperator Scottorum ("Emperor of Scots Lands"), used by Brian Boru of Ireland from 1005, who claimed overlordship over all the Gaels of Ireland, Man and Scotland, but died (1014) before he could extend his rule over the other two realms. Switzerland Confoederatio Helvetica (Helvetic Confederation): Confederation of the land of the Helvetii This is the official latin title, which is theoretically the foremost official title of Switzerland (being considered a neutral language). Helvetic means of the Helvetii tribe, the name of the people in Switzerland in Roman times. The simple latin name for Switzerland is Helvetia, "land of the Helvetii". The name "Helvetii" is that used by the Romans but it origins are unknown. Schweiz (German); Suisse (French); Svizzera (Italian); Svizra (Romansh); Switzerland (English) No exact meaning but derived from Schwyz. The name in German, French, Italian and Romansh, as well as the English name, all derive from the name of Canton Schwyz, one of the original three cantons of Switzerland. Schwyz and the other original cantons are located in a small area of east-central modern Switzerland, known as proto-Switzerland (UrSchweiz). Venezuela Venezuela: Little Venice This was the name of the first European settlement in what became Venezuela, a marsh settlement (slightly reminiscent of Venice) founded by Italian explorers working for Spain. The settlement is now lost underwater. Wales Wales: Land of foreigners or Land of Romanised foreigners The English name for Wales originates from the Germanic word Walha, meaning stranger or foreigner. (The name was first used by the invading Germanic tribes for the Celtic Welsh, not by the Welsh themselves). As the Celts of Gaul were Romanized, the word changed its meaning to "Romanic people", as is still apparent in the name of the Walloons of Belgium, Wallachia in Romania, as well as the "-wall" of Cornwall. Cymru: Land of our countrymen In Welsh, Wales is called Cymru, which is thought to have meant 'countrymen' in Old Welsh. (There is also a mediaeval legend that derives it from the name Camber, son of Brutus and, according to the legend, the original King of Wales.) Cumberland and Cumbria in the north of England derive their names from the same word. Zambia Zambia: Land of the Zambezi River | |||||||
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