The name is connected to the Latin vitulus for ‘calf’ or ‘sons of the bull’. Another theory ties it with the Celtic word ‘gair’ for neighbor.īy the Mediterranean, the boot-shaped country of Italy gets its name from the symbol of the Southern Italic Vitali tribe: the bull. It’s known as Deutschland (for “of the people”) in German, Alemania in Spanish, Niemcy in Polish, and Saksa in Finnish. The exact origin for Germany is unknown, possibly because it was composed of various tribes and states before 1871. There’s also a political angle to the name: King Louis V famously proclaimed that “France signifies freedom”. This dates back even further to the Old German word franka, meaning brave, or fierce. The “Land of the Franks”, France, gets its namesake from the Latin word francia. Another area also named after European cities? Colombia, which was originally named “New Granada” in a hat tip to the capital of the Spanish province. Venezuela is named for its resemblance to the Italian city of Venice, thus gaining the title of “Little Venice”. It’s interesting to note the relationship to water and rivers, which is reflected in the similarly-themed naming history across the continent. Another association is the uruguä, a species of mussel, for which the country is named “River of Shellfish”. Uruguay has a couple of meanings attached to it, the first being “Bird’s Tail” in reference to the uru, a type of quail that lived by the river. It was used to produce red dyes for the European textile industry - hence the “red like an ember” moniker. The brazilwood tree, or pau-brasil, was valued highly in the early 16th century. The word is a blend of mētztli for ‘moon’, xictli for ‘navel’ or ‘centre’, and the suffix -co for ‘place’.īrazil’s name is actually shortened from Terra do Brasil (land of Brazil). Vespucci is credited with correcting Columbus’ error, in which the latter mistook the New World for the East Indies.įinally, Mexico comes from the simplified Spanish translation for the Aztec capital, Metztlixihtlico, which is said to mean “place at the center of the moon”. Meanwhile, The United States of America was named in honor of the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. Kanata means village, or settlement, in the Iroquoian language. Starting with the Great White North, Canada’s name is derived from the Indigenous Huron people. Of course, naming conventions are always layered and open to interpretation - especially when they’ve gone through multiple levels of translation - but it’s still an interesting exercise to trace where they are thought to come from. Today’s map comes to us courtesy of Credit Card Compare, and it visualizes the literal translations of every country’s name, arranged by continent. But how often can we say we know the origins of those names? These days, planes, trains, and automobiles can deliver us to any destination we can name. View the full-size version of the infographic by clicking here Mapped: The Literal Translation of Every Country’s Name
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