THE NAMES OF COUNTRIES
including
some familiar names of provinces or peoples
In this list I propose some more acceptable etymologies for the names of some countries, or in many cases, a more elaborate research on the origin of names, than that found in common sources. In many cases I have chosen the etymology that seems more pertinent, and ignored other fancy, ill-founded explanations.
References
Cherpillod, André, 1986. Dictionnaire
étymologique des noms géographiques. Masson, Paris, New York etc.
Decret,
François & Mohamed Fantar, 1981. L'Afrique du Nord dans l'Antiquité. Payot,
Paris.
Deroy,
Louis & Marianne Mulon, 1992. Dictionnaire des noms de lieux. Le Robert,
Paris.
Desfayes,
Michel, 1998. A thesaurus of bird names, etymology through paradigms.
Egli,
J.J., 1893. Nomina geographica. Leipzig.
Georgeacas,
D. 1969. The names for the African continent. Intern. Kongress
für Namenforschung 3: 329-353. Wien.
Grau,
Juan, 2000. Voces indígenas de uso común en Chile. Glosario
etimológico. 3a ed. Ediciones Oikos Ltda, Santiago de Chile.
Johnson
Westropp, J. 1912.
Klein, Ernest,
1966-1967. A comprehensive dictionary of the English language.
One-volume unabridged edition, 1971.
Losique, S. 1971. Dictionaire
étymologique des noms de pays et de peuples.
Salverte, Eusebius & L.H. Mordacque, 1864. History of
the names of men, nations and places in their connection with the progress of
civilization.
Muralt,
Malou von, 1003. Un arbre devenu pays. Saussurea (
Muses, Charles, 1965. Celtic origins
and the Arthurian cycle. In: Celticum XII. Actes du IVe Congrès international
d'Etudes gauloises, celtiques et protoceltiques. Sarrebruck (Sarre) 4-9
septembre 1964. Supplément à Ogam. Tradition celtique, No. 98: 359-385.
Rennes. This article has been republished in the Journal of Indo-European
Studies vol. 7, p. 31, 1979.
Pearsall,
Judy & Bill Trumble, editors, 1996. Oxford English reference
dictionary, second edition. Oxford University Press.
Pokorny, Julius, 1959-1969. Indogermanisches
Wörterbuch. Francke, Bern.
Ronsin, Albert, 1991. La fortune d'un
nom, America. Le baptême du Nouveau Monde à Saint-Dié-des-Vosges.
Cosmographiae Introductio suivi des Lettres d'Americo Vespucci.
Jérôme Millon, Grenoble. 219 p.
Webster's new universal unabridged dictionary,
1996.
Wikipedia. On line
dictionary.
Xhevat
Lloshi, Albanian pp. 277-299, in Handbuch der
Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Herausgegeben von Uwe Hinrichs unter Mitarbeit von
Uwe Büttner 1999, Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden Slavistische Studienbücher,
Neue Folge. Herausgegeben von Helmut Jachnow und Klaus-Dieter Seemann, Band 10.
Countries that have changed their name
Recently we have
witnessed the renaming of some countries like
*********
From Arabic al-habasha
meaning "mixed", many inhabitants of this land being a mixture of
black and Semitic peoples. See
Acadie. A region in the province of
From Amerind academ,
tedlacadem "here, where we live" (not from akadi
"fertile land"; the Indians of this region were not cultivators).
"Land of
the Afghans", a Persian name of unknown meaning or origin; afghàn
also means "lamentation" but the connection is uncertain.
Ainu. A population in northern
In the Ainu
language the name simply means "man". The Chinese used to call them maomin
"hairy people".
Alan. A people of Persian origin that immigrated into
The name Alan has been given a Greek
etymology alēnon "vagabond". The Ossets are a remnant of the
Alans who called themselves As. The Greeks called them Asiaoi.
The medieval Ossets were called Allons. See
From
Esquimo Alaxska or Al-ay-es-ka meaning "big land".
Foreigners call
them albanesi (Itan), Albaner (German), Albanians (English),
Alvanos (Greek), Arbanasi (old Serbian), the country Albania,
Albanie, Albanien, Alvania, and Albanija, and the language albanese,
Albanisch, Albanian, alvaniki, and arbanashki respectively. All
these words are derived from the name Albanoi of an Illyrian tribe and
their center Albanopolis, noted by the astronomer of
The Albanian call their language Shqip (whence the adjective Shqipëtar:
those who speak the same language). The belief that the name means
"eagle" arose from a confusion between Shqip the Albanian
language and shkipjë or shqipjë a collective name for birds of
prey (including eagles). The bird name is cognate to Albanian shqep
"to tear", Serbo-Croatian shkopiti "to strike", a
characteristic of hawks. The language name must evidently have another
semantics; shqiponj means "I understand". "A new and more
generalized ethnic and linguistic consciousness of all these people responded
to this, distinguished against the foreigners as a community of men (shqiptarë)
clearly understanding each other, that is understanding each other shqip.
This adverb predominates in everyday use… There is nothing scientific in
explaining Shqipëri as "the country of the eagle" and shqiptarë
as "the sons of the eagle" (Xhevat
Lloshi, 1999).
Albanians are
called Arnaut by the Serbs, and Arnavutluk by the Turks, from
Greek arneios "lamb" which should be taken as a collective
name for "sheep", thus: sheep raisers; see
From Arabic al-gharb
"the West", see
From
Arabic al-jazīra al-khadrà "the green island" a name for
In
Arabic al-Jazà'ir meaning "the islands", formerly designating
the islands near the coast. The Spanish Argelia is a metathesis or
inversion of letters.
Allemagne. The French
name for
The
country of the Allemands. The names means "the
other men", from a root al- "other" and
"foreigner":
Greek |
allos |
other |
English |
else |
other |
Gothic |
aljis |
other |
Welsh |
aile |
other |
Latin |
alius |
other |
English |
alien |
foreigner |
Old High German |
elilenti |
from
another land |
Old High German |
Elisâzzo |
|
Teutonic |
Alamann |
the men established on the other side of the |
This
etymology has been proposed by Klein,
1977. The usual explanation from "alle männer" "all the
men" is devoid of sense.
Allobroges. An ancient people of
The name has
probably never been in use by any people. It seems to have been coined by some
historian with the Greek allos "other" and Breton broc'h "land",
and would be the equivalent of Alamann (see Allemagne).
Ambrons. An
ancient people from
In Ancient Greek
Ambrones, so named from the color of their hair (see
French |
ambré |
having a yellowish tint |
French |
ambre |
a reddish yellow substance |
Latin |
Ambrones |
a people from Denmark |
Anc.Greek |
ambrosia |
an amber-colored drink |
Italian North |
ambra |
Yellow Bunting |
English |
amber |
golden |
English |
embers |
hot coal |
English, regional |
yalla ember |
Yellow Bunting |
German |
ammer |
Yellow Bunting |
Italian North |
amarot |
Greenfinch |
The
Danish Ambrons have no relation whatsoever with the ancient peoples of
southeastern
The naming of
The earliest
known use of the name
The derivation
of America from Amerigo Vespucci was first proposed in 1507 by Martin
Waldseemüller from Saint-Dié (Lorraine, France) who wrote in his preface of Cosmographiae
Introduction: "Je ne vois pas pourquoi on objecterait … de nommer
cette partie [du monde] d'après Americus, c-à-d. Amerige" [I do not see
why one would object…to name this part (of the world) after
The letters
were the most interesting account of explorations in the
The
Waldseemüller group published Cosmographiae Introduction (Introduction
to Cosmography), the first attempt to update the geography texts of the ancients.
They were quite taken with Vespucci's idea that the
A few
alternative theories have been proposed, but none of them have any widespread
acceptance. This explanation is quite unsatisfactory and is certainly not the
origin of the name. Why should a whole continent be name after the first name
of a navigator who was not even the discoverer of this land,
and why was
He
was not the first European of his era to set foot on the mainland, as was once
thought, but probably was the first to realize that the land he helped explore
was a separate continent and not merely the coast of
Notes from Albert Ronsin
(1991), Wikipedia and other
sources.
Origin
of
It seems more
logical to consider that the name America, like Antilles, was
first used by the Portuguese who were the greatest navigators at that time,
with the meaning of "the land beyond the
sea" (mar); America is thus formed with the preposition a
"in, with, toward" etc., and mar "sea", with the
Romance suffixe –ic as in Lybica, Africa, musica, classico etc. This
etymology is consistent with the accentuation of the middle syllable.
The country is
usually called U.S.A and within the country
Arabs |
Wilayat Amrika
al-Muttahidah |
Finns |
Yhdysvallat |
French |
Etats-Unis, abbreviated E.U. |
Gaels |
an t-Oilean-ur (New Iceland) |
German |
Vereinigte Staaten |
Hebrew |
Artzot Ha'Brit |
Icelanders |
Bandaríkin |
Spanish |
Estados Unidos which they
abbreviate EE.UU. (the double letters meaning plural) |
Welsh |
Taleithiau Cyfenol or yr Unol
Daleithian |
Yugoslavs |
Zjdinjene Drzhave |
Chinese |
Mei-kuo (which is
their pronunciation of |
"America");
given a Chinese etymology the name would mean "beautiful country";
it is also called Mei zhou, in which mei "beautiful" has
only a phonetical value for the accentuated syllable in America; zhou
= continent. Japanese Beikoku is their pronunciation of the Chinese
name! Given a Japanese etymology, the name would mean "land of the
rice" which is unapplicable since the |
From Greek anatellein
"to rise", anatolē "sunrise, east"; thus: region of
the rising sun. Turkish Anadolu is from Greek.
Said to be from Vandals,
a northern tribe who established themsemlves in
Andorre. A
country in the
In Navarra, andurrial
is a scrub-covered, rough terrain.
Angleterre. The French
name for
From
the Kimbundu language n'gola "lord, chief". N'gola, name of a16th century king, when
Christopher
Columbus named
From Portuguese ante
ilhas "before the islands" so called by the early Portuguese
navigators. The name was revived and given to those islands by Paolo
Toscanelli. Aristotelis already mentioned a large island in the
A corruption of
Basque Eskualdi; see Basque.
Aotearoa. Maori name for
The name was
apparently first bestowed upon this people by a population of the eastern
Arabic |
gariba,
`arib |
to be black |
Arabic |
`arub |
sunset |
Arabic |
gharb |
the west |
Arabic |
maghreb |
the occident |
Hebrew |
ghārab |
the setting sun |
Arabic |
ghurāb |
crow |
Akkadian |
arāb |
crow |
Hebrew |
`erebh |
twilight |
Chaldean |
ereb |
land of
the setting sun |
Ancient Greek |
erebos |
darkness |
Latin |
arabicus |
a
black-colored precious stone |
Modern Greek |
arapēs |
Arab |
Modern Greek |
arap |
black (of animals) |
Albanian |
Arap |
the Arabs |
Ancient Greek |
Europē |
|
The name was
apparently given by the French, after the name of the river Río de la Plata,
argent (silver) being a translation of the Spanish plata. The
explanations for the name
A
Papago Indian name meaning "small spring".
From Ancient
Greek Armenios, a name given to a people of the Middle East, by
confusion with the Romanians and Aromanians which were also called by the same
name. See
Aryans. Originally an ancient people of south
From Sancrit Arya-
to which the sense of "noble" has been given. A derivation from a
pre-Indo-European hypothetical root *ar-yo- with a no less hypothetical
meaning "to assemble skilfully" is non-explanatory . See
For the ancient
Greek,
Ancient Greek |
eos |
dawn |
Ancient Greek |
Asia |
|
Ancient Greek |
Asioi |
the Ossets |
Ancient Greek |
Aisa |
Thracia |
Assyrian |
açu |
the East |
Old H. German |
ostar |
the East |
English |
east |
the East |
Georgian |
Osi |
name of
a tribe related to the Alans, people of the East, the Ossets, cf. Asioi,below |
Russian |
osetin |
Osset |
Russian |
vostók |
the East |
German |
gestern |
yesterday
(Latin hesternus "of yesterday" is evidently a borrowing) |
English |
yesterday |
|
The
austral land. Explorer Matthew Flinders
(1774-1814), the first to sail around and chart the Australian coast, used the
term "
Autriche. See
Avar. A people from
The earliest
attestations for the name
Pliny the Elder (N.H. 6.34) mentions an "
Later writers
who mention
But the modern
use of
Reference: G.W.B. Huntingford (transl. and ed.). Periplus of the
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Azania&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1
Said to be of
Persian origin: Pers. àzar fire, Middle Persian àtarpàtakan in
which one may recognize àtar "fire". (From surface fires on
ancient oil pools) ?
From Portuguese açor
"hawk", presumably because of the numerous hawk-like frigate-birds
cruising along the coasts (these birds may be easily be mistaken for hawks by
the uninitiated). At any rate not the Goshawk which does not occur in these
islands; the only hawk occuring in the
From bahama
"large upper middle land", the Lucayan word for
From
Arabic al-bahrayn meaning "two seas". Exactly which
seas are being referred to is debated.
Balkans. The
southeastern part of
From Mount
Balkan in
Baltic Countries.
From Lithuanian baltas
"white". The
Persian |
baluch |
mountain
top, crest, the Baluchis |
Serbian |
baljin |
crest,
tuft |
Sanscrit |
bhàla |
forhead |
French |
baleine |
whale |
Gaelic |
balla |
udder, bucket |
English |
ball |
a round thing |
etc.
The Baluchis
call
From
Bengali Bangla referring to the Bengali speaking people, and desh
meaning "country".
Bantu. A people in
southern
From the Bantu
language in which ntu means "man" and the particle ba-
indicates the plural, thus bantu "the men". In the singular muntu
"the man", with the singular particle mu-.
Named
by the Portuguese explorer Pedro A.
Basque Country. A land in the northwestern
From the French
Pays Basque. The Basques call their country Euzkadi, of which Basque
and Spanish Vasco are corruptions.
In
In
German Bayern. From Baioarii "the land of the
Boii", an ancient Gaulish people. The name is from Slavic boj
"warrior" and Romanian boier "noble". In the ancient
Romanian social organization land owning was the privilege of the aristocratic
class who accomplished their military obligations. The Bayards were
nobles who were established in
Béarnais. A region
in southwestern
A name cognate
to Gaelic bearna "gap": A gap in the
Beduin. A desert people
In Arabic Badàwi
the inhabitants of the desert, from badia "desert". The name badia
"desert" implies something bad or worthless, as in the following
cognates, froma root bad- "evil, worthless, boorish":
Kurdish |
bad |
bad, evil, ill-natured |
Persian, Tadzhik, Kashmiri, Pashto, Waziri |
bad |
bad |
English |
bad |
not good; having an evil character
(OE baeddel, baedling "womanish man" are derived from
bad) |
English (archaic) |
bedlam |
an insane asylum; a scene of
wild uproar (the etymology "from Bethlehem" offers no explanation) |
English |
budzat |
evil fellow |
English |
budmash |
worthless fellow |
Gaelic: Ireland |
beudach |
evil |
Arabic |
badi` |
dirty |
Arabic |
bàdia |
desert: barren, bad |
Gallego |
bedro |
waste land |
Arabic |
badawin |
Beduin, inhabitant of the
desert (considered boorish, little appreciated by the Arabs). Perhaps a
French loan-word (the French bédouin has been widely borrowed) |
French |
bédouin |
Beduin (quite possibly the
Sarrasins, cf. bediel, below) |
French: Neuchâtel (Switzerland) |
bédouin |
name given to the partisans
of the king of Prussia (they were little appreciated) |
Old French |
bedel |
mercenary given to plundering |
Old French |
bediel |
an injurious epithet (le sarrasin bediel) |
Ital.: Abruzze |
bbëdujimë |
(a boorish, wild, evil
person) |
French: Valais |
bedjui |
the inhabitants of the
mountain |
Albanian |
bedevë |
Beduin |
French: Limousin |
badef |
ugly, dirty, Wartburg, Französisches
etymologisches Wörterbuch vol. 23: 190 |
Old French |
bade |
futility, stupidity; aler
en bades "to be useless" |
French |
badaud |
foolish, clot; more recently
"gawper" |
French |
bedier |
ignorant |
French: Vaud |
bedan |
clot, clumsy; bedâ to
miss |
French: Neuchâtel |
bedrognure |
very bad meat, carrion |
Portuguese |
badan |
lean meat |
Portuguese |
badalada |
rubbish, nonsense,
sillyness; badajo boring talker |
Italian |
sbadéto |
negligence |
Lettish |
bèd |
worry |
Lithuanian |
beda |
misfortune |
Czech |
bída |
misfortune; běda alas!, woe! |
Albanian |
beditem (I) |
I bother him |
English |
bother |
to annoy, pester
("origin obscure") |
Provençal |
beluganço |
splendour |
French, dialectal |
abaloucà |
to dazzle |
Lithuanian |
baltas |
white |
Russian |
beluga |
white whale |
Gaulish |
Belgae |
the Belgians |
The
other proposed etymologies such as "Bulgarians" are totally
unacceptable.
Belarus. Formerly Byelorussiya "
Perhaps from to
the Maya word belix "muddy water", applied to the
Named after an
old African Empire called Bīnī or Ibnī, on whose
territory modern
Berber. A people in northern
From ancient
Greek Bárbaros, a name given to the foreign people who did not speak
their language. The name has remained for the Berbers who call
themselves Kel or, according to another source, Amzir (singular),
Amazerqt, Tamazight ("free men"). Berbers from
Arabic |
barbara |
to babble |
Basque |
berbartun |
stammering |
Basque |
berbeta |
language |
Italian, dialectal |
barbotà |
to stammer |
French, dialectal |
barbotter |
to
babble (of ducks when feeding) |
Bermudas. Small islands in the
So
called because they were discovered by Juan Bermúdez.
Bhàrat. Hindi name of
From
Bhàrata, mythical hero of ancient
From Hindi, Bhotàn,
Bhota "
From
Boii, an ancient Gaulish people (see
Named
after Simón Bolivar 1783-1830, an anti-Spanish militant and first president of
A
corruption of
The country (bo) of the Tswana people.
Brasil (
The coast of
A Welsh name
Latinized in Britannia "land of the Britons". In the Welsh
language brython means "warrier", bruth
"combat" and bryd "courage". Briton is the
same as Brezhon "Breton" a name deriving from brezel
"war", brezeliad "warrier" (not from brezh
"motley"; there is not a single evidence that the Britons were motley
or painted. See Picts).
Its full name is
Negara Brunei Darussalam. Negara means "state" in Malay
while darussalam means "abode of peace" in Arabic, an Islam
import.
From
Slavic byk "beech", from the extensive beech forest in the
region.
The Bulgarians
originated from the eastern Slavic land, in the region of the
From
the Moré language burkina "honest, deserving", and from the
Dioula language faso "country" thus "country of honest
people". Previously the country was named "
From
the Kirundi local speech
Caffre. Formerly designated the people of southern
From Arabic kafir
"infidel" (see Kafir).
Borrowed
from Welsh Celyddon which is from Gaelic Gaeldoine "land of
the Gaels".
The name was
given to that region by its discoverer, Cortez, on account of its bountiful
land and pleasant climate. Califerne was an imaginary land in the
Chanson de Roland (1100-1125) and was also the name of a terrestrial paradise
in the 16th century Spanish novel "Las Serges de Esplandian". The
etymology is simply "worthy of a caliph or khalif" the name of
wealthy Arab dignitaries.
In
Khmer language
From
Portuguese Rio de Camarões "
From Huron
In
Spanish Islas Canarias. The Latins called these islands insula
Canariae. This name means nothing else than "island of the
canaries" where these well-known cage birds originate. The people of the
From the
Portuguese Cabo Verde "green cape", named after the most
westerly cape in western
Apparently so
named by their neighbors on account of their garrulousness (the Catalans, like
the Spanish talk loud and fast), from a root cat- "prattle,
noise" etc.
French:
Béarnais |
catarinade |
gossip |
Catalan |
catarineta |
bagpipe |
Spanish,
regional |
catarina |
parrot and other noisy birds |
Romanian |
catalan |
gull |
Italian:
Otranto |
catalogna |
magpie |
Spanish:
Malaga |
catalinita |
tern (a bird with a shrill voice) |
French,
regional |
coteler |
to
prattle |
etc.
The
Catalans are said to have been called Lemosin (
A Carib word for "crocodile".
The country has
been named after the lake Chad, which is from tsad,
a local word meaning "a large expanse of water".
Said to be the
name of a valley. Several etymologies have been posited. We opt for the most
logical, proposed by Grau (2000):
an Aymara name meaning "the most remote, the deepest". The Qechua
word chili "limit of the world" is also a possible derivation.
The Incas used to call Chili or Chilillaqta "
Interestingly,
Named
after Christopher Colombus.
From Arabic Djazair
al Qomr "island of the moon".
So
called after the tribe
In
the Corsican language Córsica, in French Corse. Origin of the
name unknown.
Cossack. A people from
The name means
"rich coast". Costaricans are called Ticos by Latin Americans,
a short for Costarriqueños.
The name means
"
The country's
name is Republika Hrvtska. From krvat "mountain", a
name cognate to Albanian krep, Italian dialectal crap
"rock", whence also the
Apparently
named from the Portuguese town of
Cymru. An
ancient Greek name for
Like the Scyths
and the Scots, the Welsh were named by the ancient Greeks who called Kimbroi
several peoples living in the far North: Kimbroi in
Icelandic |
skum |
obscurity |
Danish |
skummel |
obscure |
Lettish |
skumjas |
obscure |
Anc.Greek |
Kimmerios |
a people from Sarmatia |
Italian |
cimerio |
obscure |
Persian |
kamar |
a mythical bird who hides
the sun and creates darkness |
Hebrew |
Kemet |
Ancient |
Hebrew |
Khām |
son of Noah: the dark one |
French, regional |
camaiar |
to blacken |
etc. The etymology
of Cymry "from a hypothical *com brog
"compatriot'" is a Welsh etymology given to a foreign word.
In Greek Kypros;
the island of cypress trees (KLEIN, 1987, sub Cyprian)
or from kypros "copper" because the island was the place par
excellence where the ancients obtained copper (KLEIN, sub
copper); the second explanation is probably correct.
Czech
Republik. A country in central
The origin of
the name is unknown. The proposed "etymologies" are unsatisfying.
From
the Dauma kingdom mentioned by Léon l'Africain in his Description de
l'Afrique (1526) (Deroy & Mulon,
1992).
From Albanian delmë
"sheep": land of the sheep raisers. See
The name means
"the South". In Sanskrit dak shina is "the right
hand" (when one looks toward the rising sun).
Literally
"march (frontier) of the Danes". The Dani were mentioned by
Jordanes (6th century). The Danes were named for the color of their
hair:
English |
dun |
reddish brown |
English |
dun crow |
Hooded Crow |
English, regional |
dane |
a red-haired man; a pink
color combination; several plants with red flowers or berries |
English |
danish crow |
Hooded Crow |
English |
Dane |
a people characterized by
the preponderance of fair-haired individuals |
See
Ambrons and Vandals. The Danes are called Datskij by the
Russians.
Deutschland.
The
German name for their country.
From
a name meaning "the people" and cognate to Lettish tauta
"people", Lithuanian tauta "people,
Named
after the bottom point of the
From the Latin
"Dies Dominica" meaning "Sunday", the day of the week
Christopher Columbus first landed on the island.
Dravida. Land in southern
The name means
"country of the hot sun".
Dutch. A name given
by the British to the Germanic peoples.
The people of
The country was
first named Aegyptos by the Greek from a root meaning "to burn,
hot, the South" to which belong the following terms:
Touareg |
eg |
to burn |
Nubia |
ug |
day |
Basque |
egun |
day |
Basque |
aguantz |
dawn |
Basque |
ego |
the South |
Albanian, Slavic |
jug |
the South |
Albanian |
agim |
dawn |
Etruscan |
aukēlos |
dawn (in Hesychius) |
Ancient Greek |
aygē |
dawn, sunlight |
Ancient Greek |
Aegyptos |
Egypte |
Basque |
eguzku |
sun |
Ancient Greek |
aygoustos |
August: the hot month (the "month of the
emperor August" by folk-etymology; August was not born when the Greek
named the month) |
The
Egyptians call their country Misr (Persian masreg "the
East"), the Hebrew call it Mitsrayim. Al Kimtà was the name
of "
"Land
of the Angles", the name of a Teutonic tribe who came to
Epire. A region
in northern
In
Ancient Greek Epeiros, from ēpeiros "firm land,
continent".
Named by Italian colonizers, from the ancient Greek
name for the
Eskimo. A people
around
They have been
called Eskimo or "eaters of raw meat" by their Indian
neighbours of the South; from eski "raw meat" and mants
"eat". Eskimos call themselves Inuit "the men";
compare Bantu and Ainu. The Eskimos dub the Europeans Qavdlumat
"big eybrows".
In
Estonian Eesti. Likely to have been named by the Swedes. In Swedish östan
"East". The Ancient Greek Aestia, thought to be a region in
Called Aithiopis
by the Ancient Greek, a name meaning black face and applied to all black
people. The name has been borrowed by the Ethiopians themselves as Ityopya.
The ancient Egyptians called it Kāsh, the Hebrew
Etruscan. An
Illyrian people who lived in what is today northern
Both
For the ancient
Middle Eastern peoples,
Akkadian |
erèbu |
to go down (of the sun) |
Hebrew |
`érebh |
sunset,
evening |
Anc.
Greek |
erebos |
a place of nether darkness |
Anc.
Greek |
Europē |
Europe |
The
Greek word is borrowed from Semitic.
From
the Tonganese name for the islands Viti.
From
Faroese føroyar "sheep islands".
Land
of the Finns. So named for their blond hair, apparently by Gaelic
people:
Gaelic |
finne |
whiteness |
Gaelic |
fionne |
beautiful,
blond, clear |
Gaelic |
finnog,
feannog |
Hooded
Crow |
Gaelic |
Finngeinte |
Norwegian,
Finnish |
The
Finns are called Suomi by themselves, Soome by the Estonians (Sami
is also the name by which the Lapps call themselves), and Chud by the
Czechs.
So
named by the Spanish explorers from the extensive white sand beaches. From a root flor-
meaning "white" :
Aromanian |
flor |
white |
Romanian |
flore |
blond; white goat |
Romanian |
Flore |
blond-haired goddess |
Spanish: México |
pascua
florida |
a white buzzard (Leucopternis)
|
Spanish |
Florida |
a
peninsula with extensive white sand beaches (as seen by the first travellers) |
The Franks were a
Germanic people who dominated the northern part of
From
the Portuguese pronunciation of the river name Mbe or Mpongo. The Portuguese
discoverers called the river "río de Gabão". No sensible explanation
can be put forward for a derivation from Portuguese gabão a type of
hooded overcoat.
Land of the Gascons,
in Spanish Vascos "Basque"; these names, including
"Basque", are all corruptions of the Basque language euskal
"Basque".
Gaspésie. A region in the
From Amerindian gaspeg
"tip, extremity"; the region is situated at the eastern end of
Before the
occupation of the land by Romance speaking people,
Italian |
valda |
power |
Lithuanian |
valdyti |
to gouvern |
Etruscan |
valt, volt |
greatness, glory |
German |
Geltung |
value, authority, importance |
English (slang) |
gall |
brass, cheek; to have gall: to be bold |
English |
gallant |
brave, dauntless, fearless |
French |
gaillard |
brave; a strong, vigorous man |
French |
vaillant |
valiant, brave |
Old Irish |
galda |
brave |
Gaelic Ireland |
goil |
bravery |
Gaelic Scotland |
gaoidheal |
hero |
Gaelic Scotland |
Gael |
Gaulish, Celtic; Gaeldoine "land of
the Gaels" |
Gaelic Scotland |
Gaidheal |
their own name (pronounced gayal) |
French |
Pays de
Galles |
Wales |
English |
Wales |
country inhabited by a Brittonic people |
English |
Welsh |
the people of Wales |
German |
Welsch |
the Gaulish people |
Slavic |
Valach |
the
Gaulish and Roman people on their southern borders |
The name is a
western adaptation of Gurz, a people of
The English name
is borrowed from the Latin Germanus which means "real". It was
first mentioned by Poseidonios, Tacitus and Caesar. It is the exact equivalent
of the French franc which is also the name of the Germanic tribe who
immigrated into northern
Italian |
germano |
true, real |
Italian |
cugino
germano |
natural cousin |
Italian |
germano |
mallard,
common duck: the real one |
Italian,
regional |
jermanaru |
in
French moineau franc House Sparrow: the true sparrow (see |
Spanish |
hermano |
brother: natural (true)
brother |
The
Germans were called by the Ancient Greek Gnesioi (the true ones), a
translation of the latin Germani. The Germans call themselves Deutsch
(see Deutschland and Dutch). They are called Tedeschi
(Teutons) by the Italians, Tysk by the Scandinavians, Saksa, Saksalaiset
by the Finns (Saxons), Vàcietis (those from the West) by the
Lithuanians, Allemands by the French (see Allemagne), Nemetes
by the Romanians Nemets by the Russians, Nem by the Hungarians, Neamts
by the Romanian, Niemcy by the Poles, and Nemdzios by the modern
Greek. The eastern European people having suffered many invasions by the
Germanic tribes have come to call them "the enemy", the actual
meaning of nemets:
Italian |
nemico |
ennemy |
Latin |
inimicus |
ennemy |
Ancient
Greek |
nemesitos |
guilty,
criminal |
Ancient
Greek |
Némesis |
the
personified vengeance |
Slavic |
nemu |
barbare |
Russians |
Nemets |
the
Germans |
These
terms are formed with amicus "friend" preceded by the negative
particle ne: the inimical people. The German invaders who extended to
the
After the ancient West African kingdom of the same
name.
A corruption of
Arabic Jebel Tarik "Tarik's mountain", named after Tarik ibn-Zeyand,
a Berber who landed there in 711 to launch the Islamic invasion.
Goth. An ancient
Germanic people.
The
people from
After the southern Spanish city of the same name.
Graecus was the name given
by the Romans to an Illyrian Epirotic tribe, the Graes. The name Graecus
is said to be frequent in Etruscan onomastic. Also said to be from Graikos,
the inhabitants of Graia in
Breton |
graka |
to grate; grakal to crow |
Ancient
Greek |
graukalos |
a crow-like bird |
Serbian,
Russian |
grak |
crow |
Polish |
gracz |
to talk loud; a card player |
German,
regional |
gretsch |
Nutcracker (grating call) |
Italian,
regional |
greca |
Garganey (duck with a rattling call) |
gr-g:
Gaelic: Ireland |
grág |
raucous call, crowing |
English: Scotland |
graig |
to make a noise in the throat |
Gaelic: Ireland |
grágaíl |
cackling |
Breton |
gragala |
to chirp |
Breton |
gregach |
jargon |
Spanish |
gringo |
unintelligible (language); foreigner |
Breton |
grigonsa |
to gnash one's teeth |
etc.
The
Hungarian name for Greek is Görög. The Greek call themselves Hellen
(see this word) and Rumi or Romaios (see Romanian). The modern
Greek language is Romeka. They are also called Rumi by the Arabs,
Rumeli by the Turcs, Hurumistan by the Kurds, Sasberdznetsi by
the Georgians, Yunanistan by the Arabs. The Egyptians call the Greek Yevana,
in Sanscrit Yavanah, in Old Persian Yaun, in Baluchi yunan.
In Akkadian Yàvanu (Hebrew Yàwan) was the name of
Christopher
Columbus named the island in honour of the Santa Maria de Guadalupe in
From the native
Chamorro word guahan "we have". (Wikipedia)
From
an Amerindian language quauhtemalah "land of the trees".
Formerly the
Aramaic |
gehina |
red |
Hebrew |
gehinnon |
hell, gehenna |
Albanian |
xhehenëm |
hell |
Arabic |
genub |
the South |
Touareg |
igenni |
the sky |
Berber |
aguinaon |
the
inhabitants of a country to the South, whence |
Persian |
gunà |
color |
Gaelic Scotland |
gineal |
blood |
French, dialectal |
guinet |
a red cow |
French |
guigne |
cherry |
Spanish |
guindilla |
a kind
of red pepper, also called pimiento de guinéa |
English |
guinea |
a gold
coin (French guinée) |
In
Portuguese Bissão, the name of a tribe. See
In Spanish Guayana,
from the Amerindian tribe Ouayana, said to mean "land of many
waters".
Gypsy,
Gipsy. The name of a wandering people originating from
The
Gypsy earned themselves many names according to the region they were thought to
come from, their occupation or their own qualities or defects as seen by
outsiders:
From their supposed origin:
By themselves |
Rom |
The
Gypsies opted to call themselves |
|
Rom, a shortened form of Romani at their first congress in 1971. The
name simply reflects the Romanian origin of most European Gypsies (cf. the
following names). They radiated throughout |
|||
By the French (Gascony) |
Roumani |
(Romanian) |
|
By the French (17th century) |
Roumes |
|
|
By the Hungarians |
Romungre |
Hungarian-speaking Gypsies |
|
By western Europeans |
Romani |
|
|
By the French |
Romanichel |
probably
so called originally by themselves: in their language chel means
"people, race", Russian chelavek "man" |
|
By the Norwegians |
Romanisæl |
|
|
By other northern Europeans |
Romanichal,
Romnichal, Romnichel |
|
|
By the Italians |
Valachio |
(from Valachia = Romania) |
|
By the right-bank Ukrainians |
Volóxuja |
|
|
By the Slavs |
Vlax |
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The
Vlax (also Vlach, Wallachian) are a branch of European
Romanies. Their dialect is characterized by a large lexical and structural
influence from Romanian.
The
Egyptians
By the French (in |
Egyptiens |
|
By the Albanians |
Agupti |
|
By the Romanians |
Ighiptean |
|
By the Turks |
Kibtian |
|
By the English |
Gypcian,
Gipson, Gypsy |
|
By the Irish Gaels |
Giofog |
|
By the modern Greeks |
Jyptos, Jyphtos |
|
By the Greeks of the |
Yifti |
(the
non-settled Gypsies) |
By the Albanians and Macedonians |
Evkos |
|
By the Basques |
Ijiito, Xito |
the Spanish Gypsies |
By the Italians |
Gitano |
|
By the Spaniards |
Gitano |
|
By the Spaniards in |
Chitan |
|
By the French (South) |
Gitans |
|
By the Albanian and Macedonian |
Yevkos |
the
Greeks. For this word, see |
By the Albanians |
Evgjit,
Jevg |
id. |
By the Scandinavians |
Tatars |
From the
belief that they were from the nomadic people of |
By the Swedes |
Tartar
(or Tattare) |
id. |
By the Norwegians |
Tatere |
id. |
By the Albanian |
Arixhi |
the Arians |
By the French and French Swiss |
Sarrasins |
Saracens |
By the Hungarians of |
Faraon |
from the
land of the Pharaos |
? |
Turk |
|
By the Germans |
Oesterreicher |
Austrians |
By the southern Poles |
Austryati |
Austrians |
By the Italians (Alto |
Estrekaria |
Austrians |
By the Austrians (Tirol) |
Karner |
from Kärnt (Carinthia) |
By the Spaniards |
Castellanos |
Castilian-speaking
Gypsies in the general area of |
By the Spaniards |
Húngaros |
Hungarians |
By the Basques |
Hungriano |
Hungarians |
By themselves |
Ungri,
Romungri |
Hungarian
Gypsies generally known as musicians. Most speak Hungarian as their native
language instead of Romanian |
By the Albanians (formerly) |
Magjyr |
Magyars or Hungarians |
In Germany and Hungary |
Machwáya
(Machvaya) |
supposedly
from the Serbian |
By the German speaking people of |
Jenisch (Yenish) |
a
shortened form of indianisch, just like the name of the turkey in
Steiermark janisch(huhn) stands for "indianisch(es)
huhn". |
By the New Yorkers in the 19th century |
Yansers |
same as Yenish ? |
By the German and Italians of the |
Sinti (Senti,
Cinti) |
coming from |
The
Gypsies speak an Indo-Iranian language. An early indication of their origins is
found in Herodote (vii, 153) who mentions the "Indians of Rhodes".
The
The Gypsies have
also been called Turks, Jews, Ishmaelites Greeks, Harvati (Croats), Carpatichi,
Slovaks.
The ancient
Greeks reported that the Gypsies were the only people to live in wagons like
the Scyths. Were the Scyths a Gypsy people ? Or could the Gypsy people be
related to the Scyths ?
From
their wandering life:
By the Frenchmen |
Bohémiens |
because
of their wandering ways, like that of the Bohemians (the Boii) who unfurled
throughout |
By the Basques (from French) |
Buhame |
Bohemians |
By the French in Sologne and Beauce |
Baladins |
wanderers |
In Francophone media |
Gens du
voyage |
"travelling
people" a recent "politically correct" name for the Tziganes |
In French Switzerland media |
Cheminants |
"wayfarers";
same remark as for preceding word |
By the French in Saint-Claude |
Camp-volant |
"flying
camp" |
By the Norwegians |
Vandriar |
wanderers |
By the British (Kent) |
Pikey,
Pikie |
from an
archaic English verb to pike "travel" |
From
their occupations:
By the Germans |
Kalderari, Gelderari (from
Romanian) |
caldron makers |
By the Poles |
Kalderash, Keldarash |
caldron makers |
By the Ukrainians |
Kalderari |
caldron makers |
By the Romanians and Moldavians |
Calderari |
caldron makers |
By the Spaniards |
Caldero |
caldron makers |
By the German Swiss (Grisons) |
Kessler |
caldron makers |
By the French: Alsace |
Chpengr |
(German spengler
"cauldron maker") |
By the Romanians |
Argintari |
silversmiths |
By the Romanians |
Aurari |
goldsmiths |
By the Romanians |
Zlatari |
goldwashers |
By the Romanians |
Chirpachi (Kirpaki) |
basketmakers |
By the Romanians |
Chivuste, Chivutsele |
whitewashers |
By the Romanians |
Spoitori,Spotoresele |
whitewashers |
By the Romanians |
Ciurari (Churári) |
sievemakers,
from Romanian ciurar. Known for making strainers and other cooking
utensils out of aluminum and wood |
By the Romanians |
Costorari |
tinners
? or rather makers of coş "basket" |
By the Romanians |
Cotorara |
tent
dwellers of the Carpathian forest and foothills |
By the Romanians |
Cutitari |
known
for sharpening cutlery, scissors, knives, and anything with a metal blade |
By the Romanians |
Drisari |
repairmen;
from dres "repair, mend" |
By the Romanians |
Gabori |
traditionally
known for making and repairing furnaces and hot water bottles |
By the Romanians |
Ferari (or Herari) |
workers
in iron, repairers of carriages |
By the Romanians |
Covachi (Covaci) |
blacksmiths, a Slavic term |
By the Romanians |
Tuciuri |
caldron
makers (from Turkish tuç "bronze) |
By the Romanians |
Lingurari |
makers of wooden
utensils |
By the Romanians |
Lovari (Lowára, Lowrara, Lovara) |
horse or cattle dealers |
By the Ukrainians |
Lovari |
horse or cattle dealers |
By the Albanians (Tirana) |
Mechkari |
|
By the Romanians |
Mestere-Lacatuchi |
makers
of keys, locks and burglar-bars |
By the Romanians |
Potcovari |
ironworkers
and shoers of horses |
By the Romanians |
Rotari |
cart makers |
By the Romanians |
Rudari (also Rudars, Ludari, Blidari) |
makers
of wooden spoons, troughs |
By the Romanians |
Salahori |
house-builders |
By the Romanians |
Sfirnari |
traditionally
known as animal dealers and trainers mostly horses |
By the Romanians |
Sitari |
known
today for making strainers, rolling pins, and other cooking utensils |
By the Romanians |
Ursari |
bear showers |
By the Romanians |
Violonari |
fiddlers |
By the Romanians |
Lautari |
musicians |
By the Romanians |
Padureani |
foresters |
By the Romanians |
Shiplari (Şiplari) |
makers of flask bottles |
By the Romanian, Moldavians |
Kantarai |
weighers |
By the Romanians |
Vatrashi |
slave grooms, coachmen |
By the Romanians |
Cocaviari |
? |
By the central Bulgarians |
Drindari |
? |
By the Bulgarians |
Kopanari |
the
Romanian-speaking Christian Gypsies |
By the Bulgarians |
Grastari |
horse traders |
By the Macedonians |
Djambas |
horse traders, acrobats |
By the Serbs |
Maistori |
skilled craftsmen |
By the Moldavians |
Pădureani |
foresters |
? |
Xoxorane |
|
By the Poles |
Shoshoraya |
the coppersmiths |
By the Moldavians |
Chache (Şaşe) |
the coppersmiths |
In southern Balkans |
Kaladji |
tinners |
By the British |
Tinkers, Tinguery |
menders
of kettles and pans |
By the Norwegians |
Dinglare |
dancers ? |
By the French Swiss |
Vannier |
basket makers |
By the French Swiss (Valais) |
Panatier |
basket
makers (from panier "basket") |
By the French in the |
Charpaniate |
basket
makers (from charpagne "basquet") |
By the French in |
Châréchlif |
from
German scherenschleifer "scissor sharpener" |
By the Turks of |
Kilindiridés |
sabre
makers |
By the Basques |
Motxaila |
sheep
shearers |
By the Greeks (year 1340) |
Mandropolos |
fortune tellers |
By the Moldavians |
Kobzari |
makers
of kobza, a musical instrument |
In Iran |
Zargari |
|
By the Albanians |
Chergari |
tent
dwellers; nomadic Turkish Gypsies |
By the Serbians |
Cergashi |
tent dwellers |
? |
Xanduri |
|
|
Mahajeri |
|
|
Jambashi |
|
|
Fichiri |
|
|
|
|
Names associated with their characteristics, as seen from the host
countries.
From
their noisy ways (see ** below for origin of name):
By the Romanians |
Tsigan,
plur. Tsigani (ţigan, ţigani) |
|
By the Letts |
Čigān |
|
By the Slovenes |
Cingani |
|
By the Hungarians |
Cigàny,
Ciganyok |
|
By the Poles |
Cyganie |
|
By the Slovene |
Cigani |
|
By the Russians |
Cygan |
|
By the Czech |
Cikan |
|
By the French |
Tsigane |
|
By the Germans |
Tzigeuner,
Zygenier, Zigeni |
|
By the Alsacians |
Tziginer |
|
By the German Swiss |
Zegynen |
|
? |
Sygynes |
|
By the Germans (regional) |
Tschengener |
|
By the Romansh in |
Tschainder |
|
By the Portuguese |
Cingano,
Cigano |
The
Spanish ( |
By the Italians |
Cingali,
Cinguli |
|
By the Albanians |
Cengari |
|
By the Kossovars |
Cingarie |
|
By the Italians |
Zingani,
Zingaro |
|
By the Spaniards |
Zingaro |
|
By the Basques |
Tzingaro |
|
By the Turcs |
Chinganie,
Chingen |
|
By the Georgians |
Atsinkan |
|
By the Greeks |
Tsinganos,
Atzinganos |
(the
settled Gypsies, cf. Yifti, above) |
By the Greeks of Nauplion ( |
Atsingani |
In
Byzantine Greek, the name is spelled athinganoi and later translated,
wrongly, as "untouchables" |
**The
preceding appellations mean "rowdy, noisy, talkative"
and are cognate to the following:
Romanian |
zîngani |
to make noise, prattle |
Romanian |
ţigani
(Tsigani) |
as a
name for the Gypsies, the name is of Romanian origin |
French (regional) |
sigan |
noise, quarrel |
Provençal |
saga |
din |
Italian (regional) |
ziga |
to yell |
Albanian |
cingonë |
bagpipe |
Italian |
cinguettare |
to babble |
French (regional) |
tsincagner |
to quarrel |
Romani (Gypsy) |
chingar |
to yell |
Albanian |
cingare |
bell; canganë
a musical instrument |
Serbocroatian |
cinkati |
to sound |
Italian (Sicilia) |
zingarotta |
garganey,
a duck with a rattling call, etc. Many names of noisy birds in most European
languages are cognate to this group. |
By the Spaniards |
Cañi |
from a
root meaning "noisy" |
[ |
||
By the Spaniards |
Calé |
The word
has a "noisy" connotation and comes from a widespread root kal-
"voice, noisy" etc. Caló is the
dialect of the Spanish Gypsies |
|
Kaale |
dialect
spoken by the Finnish Gypsies |
By the Germans |
Lalleri,
Lallero |
(those
coming form |
By the Germans (Westfalia) |
Meckesser |
probably
with same meaning as the preceding name |
By the Romanian |
Cioroi, Ciorobor, Cioroboară |
sense of noisy, quarrelsome, cf. Tsigan, above |
Various other names:
By the Dutch |
Heiden |
(pagans) |
By the Romanians |
Modor |
(peevish) |
By the Romanians |
puradel |
Gypsy boy |
By the Romanians |
stancă |
"gypsy woman" |
By the Romanians |
pirandă |
concubine ? |
By the French in |
bimbelotte |
gypsy woman |
By the French in |
touornyiresse |
gypsy woman |
By the Albanians (Gheg) |
Gabël |
(liar, deceiver) |
By the Albanians |
Gabrdyn |
(prob. from gaberr "boor") |
By the modern Greeks |
Katsibelos |
(sordid) |
By the French Basques |
Cascarots |
(probably
from Basque kaskaran "stain produce by the walnut husk – a
reference to the dark complexion) |
By the French in |
Cacare |
|
By the French in Picardie |
Baraquieu |
|
In the USA (state ?) |
Deadheads |
before 1995 when they were disbanded. (In an
internet forum) |
In |
Moon men |
|
|
Errumantxela |
dialect spoken by the Basque Gypsies |
By the Poles |
Bergitka |
|
By the Romanians |
Netotsi (Netoţi) |
the runaway slaves in the Carpathians |
By the Romanians |
Laieshi (Laieişi) |
members of a band of Gypsies (laie = a Gypsy
camp) |
By the Italians |
Cadegipti |
|
By the Albanians (Tirana) |
Kabudji |
|
In Greece
and Turkey |
Sepechi |
from
Turkish sepetçi "drill makers" |
In the
southern Balkans |
Burgudji,
Kalburdju |
from
Turkish burguc |
In Bulgaria |
Erli |
from
Turkish yerli "settled" |
In |
Arli |
from
Turkish yerli "settled" |
By the Albanians |
Rlia |
from Turkish yerli "settled". They
do not speak Romani |
In |
Ashkali |
|
By left-bank Ukrainian |
Sárvi |
|
In |
Mango |
they do not speak Romani |
In the southern Balkans |
Gurbet |
|
In |
Bosha |
The Gypsies who call themselves Lom; their dialect
is called Lomavren, see Lom, below |
Europe, America |
Boyash, Bayash, Beyash |
a Vlax Romanii population who descends from the Rudari and have
a Romanian dialect as their language instead of Romani. The Boyash
(also Bayash, Beyash) are the Romani populations, widespread
throughout |
In the |
Bashalde |
the
musicians descendant of Hungarian-Slovak Gypsies |
By the English |
Boswell, Bossil Lanc.
Not., Linc., Bozzel, Bozzil n. Lanc., Bosl Not. |
“The
name is said to be from the name of Charles Bosvile or Boswell, a |
By the Norwegians |
Tavringar |
|
By the Norwegians |
Resande |
|
By the Germans |
Krassaria |
those coming from the Giuliano region, |
By the Germans |
Rotwelsch |
the Gypsy language |
By the Germans |
Havadi |
those from Slavic countries |
By the Egyptians |
Hawazi |
|
By the Albanians |
Kabuzi |
|
By the Albanians |
Kurtofi |
|
By the French in the Velay |
Caraque |
|
By the French in Rombas ( |
Caramagna |
also tinsmith |
By the Spaniards |
Beticos |
the
Castilian speaking Andalusian Gypsies who have permanently settled in
house-caves or town houses in such areas as |
By the French (Parisian slang) |
Rabouin |
(miser, skinflint) |
By the French |
Manouches |
(especially the circus Gypsies), from |
the Gypsy language manush
"man"; maniche is the Gypsy language. Manush may be
identical to the German Mensch (the men, the people). Manouche is
also the name given to themselves |
||
By the Romanians |
Garoi |
(from Gypsy gero "man" – Graur*, Juilland*) |
In Bosnia-Hercegovina |
Gurbéti |
|
By the Norwegians |
Fanter |
|
By the Scots |
Faw, Faa |
|
In |
Mazang |
|
In |
Luri |
|
In |
Luli, Kara Luli |
|
By the Arabs |
Nuri (plur. Nawar) |
(a corruption of Luri) |
By the Iranians and Turks |
Jat |
and for all Indus-valley people (Jat is an Indian
tribal name) |
In Persia (5th century) |
Tsut |
|
By the Arabs |
Zott |
(same word as the preceding) |
In northern |
Kurbat |
|
In |
Karaçi |
|
By the Armenians |
Gndsof |
|
By the Egyptians |
Helebi |
|
In India |
Banjara, Badija, Bahoria, Biloc, Bhantu |
|
In the Deccan |
Changar |
|
By the Sanskrit writers |
Domba |
|
In northwestern India |
Dom |
A menial
class in |
slaughterers and janitors,and members of the
Sudra caste. The Sudra are the lowest of the four Hindu castes,
believed by some to have been the ancestors of the Gypsies (Sanskrit). Domari
is the language of the Dom; speakers of the dialects of |
||
From the southern |
Lom |
(from the preceding word) |
By the Bulgarians (Shiven) |
Xoraxane (Khorakhane) |
the
Turkish language of Muslim Gypsies. After the 10th century Central Asian
Karakhanid Turkic empire. |
By the Bulgarians |
Xoraxai |
Muslim
Gypsies. However this name and the preceding are also said to refer to Muslim
non-Gypsies |
In
In Alto Adige,
they are called Gadjkine Sinte (In Romani Gadjikano is the
masculine singular adjective meaning "non-Gypsy").
Payo is the Calé
term for gadjo (for Calé, see above).
Pomana. Wake (vigil ?)
in Romani.
Rajputs. A
predominantly military northwestern Indian people, who claim to be descended
from the Kshatriyas. Believed by some scholars to have been the ancestors of
the Gypsies.
*Graur, A., 1934. Les mots tziganes en roumain. Bulletin de
linguistique 2:108-200.
*Juilland, Alphonse, 1952. Le vocabulaire argotique roumain
d'origine tsigane. Cahiers Sextil Puşcariu 1:
81-151.
Some names for
the Gypsies were provided by Fergus Smith, on line, 1998.
"Mountainous
land" from the Carib Indian (now extinct) ai
"montain" and ti "land", or Taino language hayiti
"tall mountain".
Hamite. An ancient
name designating "the black people".
The descendants
of Ham (Khām), son of Noah. Ham if from a root k-m
meaning "dark", see Cymru.
Hebrew. An ancient people in the
In
Aramaic `ibhray, `ebhray, in Hebrew `ibhri, literally
"he who came across (the river). Thus the Hebrews would be
"those who came across the river (Euphrate) to go to the
Hellen. Name by which the Greek
call themselves.
The Hellens were
originally the inhabitants of
German |
hell |
light-colored |
English |
hell |
a fiery (thus
shining) imaginary place |
Albanian |
hüll |
star |
Ancient Greek |
hēlios |
the sun |
Ancient Greek |
Helénē |
daughter of Zeus |
Ancient Greek |
Hellàs |
a Thessalian
city (the white one), whence the name of the country) |
Welsh |
heol |
the sun |
A
name meaning "Spanish".
Hittite. An ancient people in
Assyrian
Khita people of Khatti, Georgian Somkheti. In Hebrew Hitti
and in Hittite Hatti "the people". However the Hittites called
themselves Nes and their language Nesili.
From
an earlier Holtlant meaning "woodland".
Given a Spanish
etymology, the name would mean "the depths" which would be a
reference to the deep waters off the northern coast. As a country's name it is
in need of an explanation.
Cantonese Heung
Gong meaning "spice harbour", presumably from the fact that
Hottentots. A native people from
southern
A
name given by the Boers who heard the natives clicking language as hot and
tot.
From Ungur,
a region of the
In Ancient Greek
Ibères: the people inhabiting the region of the river
Ibēría. 2. Ancient Greek name for a region in the
western
From
Imeriti, the name of its inhabitants. No relation to the
The Icelandic
name is
Ichkerya. A
territory in the northern
In
Greek ē chora ē
Name given by
Europeans; from Ancient Greek Indos, the name of the river called in
Sanscrit Sindhu, the meaning of which is "the barrier". Pashto
sind and Khowar sin mean "river".
The name has
been coined by Europeans with
Inuit. The Eskimos (q.v.). A name
meaning "the men" (cf. Ainu, Bantou).
In
Arabic al-‘
Like several
regions of the
Hindi |
Arun |
sun |
Hindi |
Arunachal |
province
of the rising sun |
Persian |
Irun, Iran |
|
Arabic |
Iraq |
|
Sanscrit |
Arya |
Aryans,
originally the name of a people of south |
Hindi |
Irian |
the
easternmost of the |
Hittite |
Arinna |
goddess of the sun |
Ossetic |
Irun |
Osset |
etc. Tibetans
call
In
Irish Gaelic Éire. From eir, iar "the West".
Irian Jaya. The western part of
Irian is the
Indonesian term for the
Named after Ysrà'él
alias Jacob. The people of
In
Italian Italia. The name is of Greek origin (certainly not from Latin
vitullus "calf" an etymology devoid of any logic) and was
first given by Greek people to a burnt over region in the southern peninsula; from
a chromatic root meaning "blackened" (Desfayes, 1998):
Ancient Greek |
aithos |
black |
Ancient Greek |
aithiops |
negro, black slave |
Ancient Greek |
aithalē |
soot |
Ancient Greek |
aithaloeis |
blackened with soot |
Ancient Greek |
Aithaleues |
a locality in Mesenia |
Ancient Greek |
Aithaleis |
a Doric
tribe in |
Ancient Greek |
Oitalos |
a
locality on the |
Ancient Greek |
Aitolia |
(Homer, Iliade, 638) |
Ancient Greek |
Aethaleia |
the
Greek name for the |
Ancient Greek |
Italio |
a
locality in Hekatea (= |
Ancient Greek |
Italion |
a
locality between |
These
localities were probably places blackened by forest fires, which are so
frequent in the Mediterranean countries. The Calabrian locality name, already
latinized, was presumably the ancestral place name of
Ivory Coast. See Côte d'Ivoire.
Jamaica. An island
country in the Caribbeans.
From
Taino Indian Xaymaca or Hamaica "land of springs"
?
Jan
Mayen. A Norwegian island in the
The origin of
the name is disputed. The general consensus is that it derives from a Dutch
sailor named Jan Mayen who came across the island in 1614 (he didn't actually
discover it). (Wikipedia).
From
the Chinese name of the country Jēh-pēn-ko "land of the
rising sun", whence the Italian pronunciation
Japheth (Hebrew). The
youngest of the three sons of Noah, brother of Shēm and Khām, q.v.
Giant of the first ages, eldest son of the sky and earth, father of the peoples
of the Occident. In view of the evident relation of Shēm and Khām
to colours (see Semite and Hamite), Japheth could also
relate to a colour, his fair hair. From a Semitic root s-f yellow:
Arabic |
safar |
yellow
(Latin sulphur appears to be a lambdacism for safar) |
Arabic:
Liban |
asfar |
yellow |
Arabic |
saffāra
et var. |
Oriole |
Kurdish |
safra |
bile |
Kurdish |
sufrah,
sifyr |
copper |
Tajik |
isparaki |
a
yellow colour |
Hebrew |
Sepharadim |
descendants of Iberian Jews |
Hebrew |
Japheth |
"Traditionally, Japheth was |
understood to have been the progenitor of the peoples of |
||
Kurdish:
Sorani |
šefeq |
twilight |
Persian:
Sivand |
šafaq |
dawn |
Java. One of the
From Sanscrit yavadvipa
"rice island" (yava
"barley" should be understood as a collective name for cereals).
Jibuti. See
In
Arabic al Urdun. Named after the
Kabyle. A Berber
people in
From Arabic kabā'il "tribe".
Kafir. A mountain people of northwestern
From Arabic kafir
"infidel" (see Caffre).
Etymology
unknown, but certainly not from Polish Kazimierz, a proper name.
Kazakhstan. A country in central
"Land of
the Kazakhs", from the Kazakh language kazak
"free person". From Kazakh comes the Russian cossack.
Kenya. A country in eastern
Named
after
After the Goryeo
Dynasty, the first Korean dynasty visited by westerners. Koreans call their
country Hanguk. (Wikipedia).
In Japanese Korai and in Chinese Kao-li (the Chinese language has
no r); given a Chinese etymology kao-li would mean "lofty,
beautiful".
Kosove. The Albanian feminine and
official name of the region usually known by the Serbian name Kosovo. At
the time of writing the region is officially part of Serbia, but is seeking
independance.
Origin unknown.
The etymology "field of the blackbird" is folk etymology. Just
because kos means "blackbird" in Serbian does not mean Kosove
is a derivative. "Field of the blackbird" is a Slavic etymology
given to an Albanian name. Kocove is also the name of a locality in
central Albania.
Kurd. A people in the
A
word meaning "courageous" in their language. In Kurdish körmänj.
The Greek called them Mēdes, after the name of their king Mēdos
(or was Mēdos named after the people ?). They are called Mar by
the Armenians and Madi by the Iranians.
Kuriles. A group of small islands in the
From
the Ainu language kuri "fog".
From German
Kuwait. In Arabic al-Kuwayt
"the small fortress". From the Arabic speech of eastern
From
the Kyrgyz language kyr "steppe" (Turcic kir
"country"). The name was formerly spelled Kirghizstan.
Laos. A country in southeastern
From French
A Swedish name
"country of the Lapps"; from lappen "rag", so named
from the ragged appearance of the early people of this region. (The Sami people
used to be considered inferior to the Scandinavians, and were at a time,
persecuted. Today in
In
Lettish Latvietis. Same etymology as
From Hebrew Lebhànon
(whence Akkadian Labnànu, Aramaic Libhnàn, Arabic Lubnàn),
from a root meaning "light, clear, white", on account of the
snow-covered mountains :
Welsh |
llyw |
color |
Breton |
liv |
color |
Old Irish |
li |
color |
Old Norse |
lyvna |
brightness |
English |
levin |
lightning |
Old Persian |
lev |
sun |
Old Persian |
levlank |
snow |
Hebrew |
làbhàn |
white |
Arabic |
laban |
milk |
The
French name of
From Sotho,
the name of the people inhabiting this region; le is a prefix in the
Levant. The
From French le
Levant "the rising (of the sun)". Also a region
in eastern
From
liberty, so named because the nation was created as a homeland for freed
American slaves in 1922.
The country was
named after the
Etymology
unknown. The ancient Greeks writers reported that "these peoples were small
and skinny". This is probably a folk etymology suggested by Albanian
lig "skinny".
In
Lithuanian Lietuva. Several etymologies have been proposed, the
most logical of which appears to be from a root l-t- as in Italian lato
"wide", Latin Latium "flat coutry", Irish Letha
and Welsh Llydaw "Brittany", Breton led
"width", ledenez "peninsula", and finally littoral.
Like the Finns, the Balts may have been named by Celtic people. The Irish
Gaelic Letha could explain the /h/ in the English
In
Italian Lombardia. Some fancy guesses: From Latin lombardus
"long bards" or "long spears" or from German langbart
"long beards". (Their Germanic name was Winnile; for this
name, see Vandals). The name however is authentically Romance. Its
meaning is "region along the edge of the
Ancient Greek |
loma |
edge |
French |
lombes |
parts of
the body on each side of the backbone (English loins) |
English |
lumber |
long piece of wood |
Spanish |
alambre |
wire |
French |
lombric |
earthworm |
Romansh |
lumbarda |
a big
ugly cow: having a salient backbone |
etc. Also many regional names of birds having a
band on certain parts of the plumage.
In
Ancient Greek Lysitania. Etymology unknown. "From Greek lysis
`freeing´" is a Greek etymology for a foreign word. I posit here
that this land could have been occupied at that period by a tribe of Vandals
coming from the region called
Luxemburg. A small country near
From
Lützelburg or Lëtzebuerg, literally "little borough".
Lybia. A country in northern
Appears
to have been named after a people originating in
Literally
"highland", from a root mak- "high" and edos
"land".
A
name mentioned by Marco Polo but pertaining however to the Somalian coast. From Maqdasu,
Arabic name of the main city, today called Mogadiscio, the Italian
pronunciation. The natives from
The Sahara
Maghrebia or Maghrebian Sahara is a country in western
From the local
language
Formerly
known as
In
Hindi Māldīvī. The main island is called Male.
Etymology unknown. Not from Sanskrit mālā "garland"
or Tamil malay "mountain" – there are no mountains in this
flat archipelago.
Etmology unknown. The people of
From
Semitic malàt "refuge, port" (and certainly not from melitta
"honey"). The Maltese call themselves Ghawdex.
Malvinas (Las). The Argentinian name for the
Named
Malouines by the French sailors who came from
In Chinese Manzhouguo
"Manchu land". Manchu is from the Tunguse language Manju.
So
named in honour of Mariana of Austria, widow of Spanish king Philip IV.
It has been
supposed that
From
A
corruption of the indigenous name M'Ayâta, Mawutu,
sense unknown (Cherpillod).
A
calque of the ancient Greek name Mesopotamía, from mésos "in
the middle" and potamós "river". The Greek name
may be a translation of ancient Semitic beth-nahrin "between the
rivers, a reference to the
No less than 45
etymologies have been proposed for México, most of them based either on the
Nahuatl metl "maguey", or metztli "moon", and xictli
(navel) and thus means "navel of the moon", with the somewhat
tortuous explanation that the city was formerly situated on an island in a
lake. None are really convincing. Mexitli the Aztec god has probably
been named after the country. The city was formerly called Anáhuac and
the region around it Tenochtitlán. The country was named after its
capital.
Coined with Greek mikro "small" and nēsos
"island".
Named after
their geographic location midway in the
Named
after the river
From
a root meng-, mong- "brave".
Montenegro. A country in
the Balkans.
The
Venetian name of the republic that Serbocroatians call Crna Gora "
From Marrakech,
the capital, from Berber marūkus meaning
"fortified" (Cherpillod),
not from Classical Arabic marrūkuch "the
beautiful one"; the Berber name certainly antidates the Arabic one. The
Arabic name of the country is al-Maghrib "the West". See
In Portuguese Moçambique
is the name of the principal city and port. No satisfying etymology is known.
Perhaps from the name of a previous Arab ruler, the sheik Mussa Ben Mbiki, that
in spoken Portuguese sounds like Moçambique (Wikipedia).
Myanmar. A country in southeastern
Pyi-daung-zu
Myan-ma Naing-ngan-daw (Union of Myanmar) is the official name. "In 1989,
the military junta officially changed the English version of its name from
Burma to Myanmar (along with changes in the English versions of many place
names in the country, such as its former capital city, from Rangoon to Yangon).
The official name of the country in the Burmese language, Myanmar, did
not change, however. The renaming proved to be politically controversial, seen
by some as being less inclusive of minorities, and linguistically unscholarly.
Acceptance of the name change in the English speaking world has been slow, with
many people still using the name Burma to refer to the country. Major news
organisations like the BBC still refer to it as Burma. Some question the
military junta's ability to "officially" change the name in English
in the first place" (Wikipedia). Burma is a corruption, by
Westerners, of Myanmar.
Namibia. A country in southwestern
From
Namib, the name of the coastal desert. From the Nama language of
a Hottentot tribe namib "vast, arid plain" or "area where
there is nothing".
Nepal. A country in southern
Sanskrit
Nepāla, from nipa "at
the foot of the mountains" and alaya "land".
Netherlands
(The)
Literally
the
New Guinea. A large island north of
Discovered in
1526 by the Portuguese navigator Jorge de Meneses, and named Nueva Guinea
by the Spaniard Ortiz de Rez because the natives reminded him of the Black
Africans of Guinea (Deroy & Mulon).
New Zealand. A country off the coast of
The Dutch named
the islands Nieuw-Zeeland, after a region of the
Nicaragua. A country in
Named
after Nicarao, the name of the chief of the main tribe at the time of
its discovery in 1522.
Niger. A country on the river
From a native
term Ni Gir 'river Gir'. The name of the Niger river is Ghir-n-ighiren
"river of the rivers" in Arabic.
Nigeria. A country on the river
See
From Japanese nichi
"sun" and hon "origin", i.e. "rising
sun".
Norway
Nubia. A region in Soudan and southern
In
Arabic an-Nuba, from the Coptic language nubti "to braid
(the hair)" on account of the well-known braided hairdo of the Nubians.
Numidia. Ancient region of
Greek
Nomadia "land of the nomads".
In Arabic ‘Uman. Origin disputed; possibly after the
personal name Oman, common in Arabic. The name has been mentioned by the
geographer Ptolemy (AD 85–AD 165).
Osset. A people in the
From
Ancient Greek Asioi, Asiaioi "the Ossets". For etymology,
see Asia. They call themselves Ir, their country Ireston;
Iron "Ossetish". For etymology, see Iran. The Ossets call
the Balkans Asi. The medieval Ossets were called Allon i.e. the
Alans who established themselves in
Separated form
In Ancient Greek
palaistinē, land of the Palaestes, in Akkadian Palastu, an
Illyrian people originating from Epire, northern
In
Spanish Panamá. Said to be a former village near the capital. From an
Amerindian name of unknown meaning. Some etymologies have been proposed, but
they are groundless hypotheses.
Papua. The western
part of the
The island was
named ilhas dos Papuas by its discoverer Don Jorge de Meneses. From the
Malay language pua-pua or papuah "frizzled", on account
of the conspicuous hairdo of the Papuan people.
Named after the
river
According to the
British author Bruce Chatwin, the name appears to be taken from the novel Primaleón
de Grecia published in Castilla in 1512 (7 years before Magellan left for
his journey), which tells about a far away island in which lives a dog-headed
monster called the Great Patagon. Now, it is known that the Indians
Tehuelche wore masks representing dog heads. The connection is thus easily made
and the naming more readily acceptable than the explanations "from Spanish
patagón 'big foot', because of the large footprints seen by the first
explorers, or the large footwear of the Indians" which are just tales
invented to support the meaning patagón. For another geographical name
similarly taken from the literature, see
Pelasgi. An
ancient people of
In
Greek pelasgoi "the inhabitants of
Perú. A country in
Perú is also the
name of a hamlet in
The archipelago,
currently known as the
Phoenicians. An ancient Semitic people of the eastern
Phrygians. An ancient people in
They were called
Byges by Herodote. According to several classical authors, the Phrygians
were either Armenians or Thracians.
Picts. Name of an ancient people of
This name
appears for the first time in 297 in Eumenius' Panegyric. It is not the name of
some mysterious people, but simply the translation in Latin of the Breton Breizad
"Breton" (see
Pityusas. Small
islands in the western
Meaning: Pines
islands. They were named by the Greeks, from pitus "pine".
Polab. A Slavic
people.
Name formed with
the Slavic particle po- "by, at" etc., and Laba the
Czech name of the
From
Slavic polje "field, plain". The Poles call themselves
Poles'e. A region of
Bielorussia.
Formed with the
Slavic particle po- "by, at" etc., and les'
"forest", thus "by the forest".
Coined
from Greek poly = many, and nēsos
= island.
Meant
simply "port of the Gauls", today the city of
Formerly
spelled Borussia, from the name of the tribe Borussi. Formed with the
polyvalent Slavic prefix po- and Russi "the Russians".
The
capital city's name is
From
Arabic qatran "tar".
From
Algonquin kebec meaning "the place where the river narrows
(WIKTIONARY).
Not named after
the Romans but after the tanned complexion of the people. From a root r-m
describing some dark red or sometimes reddish-yellow things or animals:
Serbo-Croatian |
rumen |
pink, red (complexion) |
Czech |
rumeny |
id. |
Ukrainian |
rumjanyj |
id. |
Polish |
rumiany |
id. |
Serbo-Croatian |
rumatin |
maize |
Serbo-Croatian |
rumenjak |
yolk |
Romanian |
rumen |
red-brown, dark red |
French |
romanée |
a kind of
red wine |
Catalan |
rumir |
to get tanned |
Catalan |
rumia |
Redstart |
English |
rum |
a reddish colored drink |
Latin |
rumex |
a plant
with red stalks |
Galician |
romiron |
Oriole |
Modern Greek |
romekon |
a red grape |
etc.
See also Armenian for the closely related root arm-.
For
the names given to the Romanians by Slavic people, see Walach.
Land of the Russians. From the root rus-
"blond", "rufous":
Latvian |
rusa |
rust |
English |
rust |
the reddish-colored iron oxide |
English |
russet |
reddish |
Mod.Greek |
roussa |
red-haired woman |
Romanian |
rus |
reddish blond |
Albanian |
rus |
blond (Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian id.) |
Old Ukrainian |
rus' |
blond |
Polish |
rusy |
having red hair |
Ukrainian |
rusyj |
blond (cheveux) |
Czech |
ryšavac |
a red-haired person |
Russian |
rusyj |
blond, roux, châtain clair |
Russian |
Rusyj |
Russian |
Slavic |
Rus |
the Vaeringi, Vikings who penetrated into |
French |
Russie (cuir de) |
a red
dyed leather, FEW |
Italian |
rosso (d'uovo) |
yolk |
etc.
The
Letts call the Russians
Ruthenian. Another name for
Ukrainian, now in disuse.
From a root rut-
"reddish", also for the color of their hair:
German |
rot |
red |
Latvian |
ritausma |
dawn |
Lithuanian |
rytai |
the East, the Orient |
Lithuanian |
rytoj |
tomorrow (= at dawn) |
Latin |
rutilus |
(borrowing) glowing red |
Gaelic: Ireland |
ruithéal |
herb robert, a plant with red stalk |
Anc.Greek |
erythros |
red |
Latin |
Rutheni |
(borrowing) Ruthenian, Ukrainian |
Mod.Greek |
rhitini |
rosin |
From the people
name Vanyaruanda; meaning unknown.
Arabic Sahrà,
from asHar, asfar "fulvous colored", a characteristic
of this desert (also said to mean "emptiness", but this meaning is
probably secondary).
Sakartvelo.
A
country in the
"The
saviour" in Spanish, named for Jesus Christ.
From
"Sacred Moa Preserve", after the Moa, a native extinct bird species.
Sarandib. Ancient Arabic name for
A
corruption of Sanscrit sinhaladvipa "isle of the Sinha"
(see
Sarmates. An ancient people from the northern Caspian
region.
In Ancient Greek
Sarmatioi, borrowed from Persian and meaning "people from the cold
region":
Persian |
sarmā |
the cold |
Lettish |
sarma |
hoarfrost |
Ancient Greek |
Sarmatioi |
the Sarmates |
Slavic mythology |
Zermagla |
the
deified Winter; he flees before Pagoda (the deified Spring) and his wife
Simzerla, goddess of flowers |
In Arabic al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabiyah as-Sa‘udiyah; from sa`ād which is said to be cognate to sa`id
"happy". The name appears to be a retranslation of Arabia Felix,
for which see
From
Skane, a Swedish province. Etymology uncertain. Those
proposed are not convincing. The Scandinavian peoples could have been named
after their (supposedly) loud utterances, perhaps during battles. If so, the root
of their name should be related to Lettish skandinat to ring, from a
root
Sanskrit |
kan |
to sound |
Tokharian A |
kan |
melody; TokharianB kene id. |
Kurdish |
kenin |
to laugh |
Sanskrit |
kanuka |
cock, crow, goose |
Old Persian |
kank |
cock |
Latvian |
skanēt |
to sound |
Latvian |
skandināt |
to sound |
Anc.Greek |
skindapsos |
a musical instrument, organ ? |
Czech |
kandati |
to chatter |
Sanskrit |
kandala |
murmur |
Ancient
Greek |
skota |
twilight |
Ancient
Greek |
skotazō |
to
get dark |
Modern
Greek |
syskotazō |
to
get dark |
Ancient
Greek |
skias |
shade |
Ancient
Greek |
skiathis, skiaina |
Corvinus nigra, a dark-colored fish |
Ancient
Greek |
skythros |
dark |
Ancient
Greek |
Skythos |
the
Scythians |
Latin
(from Greek) |
Scoti |
the
Irish people |
Modern
Greek (Naxos) |
skathia |
twilight |
Modern Greek (Macedonia) |
skouthida |
twilight |
There is at least one reference in Hesychius that the Skythos were Celts: A borrowed name for the Swan was agly ("hypo Skython"); this name is cognate to Gaelic glé "brillant, pure", a reference to the immaculate white plumage of the Swan. The Greek aglē
è "brightness,
light" is also a borrowing from the Gaelic. Diodorus (60-30 B.C.) wrote:
...the people who are established above this
The Scots call
themselves Gaidheal (pronounced gayal) "Gael". The
Highlanders are called Gael by the Scot English (see
Scythes. See
Seistan. A region in southern
In
Ancient Greek Segestēnē, an adaptation of Sakastan
"land of the Saces" or Saka, their Persian name. Saka is
today the language of Saxaul, a region in Transcaspia bordering
Semites. The people speaking a
Semitic language (Arabic, Berber, Hebrew).
From
Hebrew Shēm, one of Noah's sons (see Hamite). Originally they
were the inhabitants of Sem "
Land of the
Serbs; from a root s-rb meaning reddish, yellowish,
pale; so named from the color of their hair (see also Slavs):
Romanian |
sarbad |
pale |
Serbo-Croatian |
srb |
Serb,
people with pale hair; the Sorabs are a Slavic people in |
French |
sorbier |
a tree
bearing red berries, English service-tree (from the same root) |
French |
sanguisorbe |
a plant
with reddish flower |
Albanian |
sherbet |
a kind
of sirup, whence sorbet |
After a
Portuguese spelling of the Zenaga (Arabic Senhaja) tribe who dominated
much of the area.
Siciliy. An
Italian island in the Mediterranean. Ancient name Šekeleš, later Sikelía by the Greeks. May have been peopled by the Sagalassos, the inhabitants of Šakalušu a Pelasgian city in southwestern Anatolia. The Sagalassos also established themselves in southwestern Andalusia.
Slavs. The people of eastern
Europe speaking Slavic languages.Like many
people, the Slavs were named for the color of their hair. See Serb,
Welsh |
llyw |
color |
Old
Norse |
lyvna |
brightness |
English |
levin |
lightning |
Old
Persian |
lev |
sun |
Old
Persian |
levlank |
snow |
Hebrew |
lavan |
white |
Russian |
solovej |
isabelline, also nightingale |
Italian
(Lombard) |
slavi |
pale |
Serbo-Croatian |
slava |
nightingale (an isabelline colored bird) |
Czech |
slavik |
nightingale |
Serbo-Croatian |
slavulj |
nightingale |
Serbo-Croatian |
Slaven,
Sloven |
Slav, Slovene |
Russian |
Slavianka |
Slav |
Czech |
Slovinec |
Czech |
Slovene |
Slovenska |
Slovak |
For
other peoples named after the color of their hair, see Serb, Ruthenian,
Russian, Danes. The Albanians call the Slavs Shqeri which means
"wax-colored". The etymology "from Russian slovo
"word, glory" is "politically correct" and would please the
Slavs but is not descriptive. Peoples like to give themselves noble origins.
Most people are defined by what others thought of them.
So
named by the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendaña y Neyra in 1567/8. He thought that
there would be a lot of gold there, so he named them after the Biblical King
Solomon of
Arabic
Aş-şūmāl. From a root s-m
"dark: Sumerian šim "darkness", Persian šāma
id.: land of the dark people.
Takes
its name from its geographical position. See
In
Spanish España. The
Ancient
Greek |
hispe |
the West, region of the setting sun |
Ancient
Greek |
Hesperis |
land of the setting sun |
Latin (borrowed from Greek) |
Hispania |
Spain |
Ancient
Greek |
hespéra |
evening |
Latin
(borrowing) |
vesper |
evening |
In Sanscrit sri
means "happiness, wealth, glory" and lanka "isle".
Ancient names: Sarandib (from Sanskrit Sinhala-dwīpa,
meaning "land of the Sinhala people"), and Taprobanè.
Coincidentally, sinha means "lion" in Sanskrit. See also
In Arabic as-
In
Assyrian Sumeru. Like several regions of the
Gaelic Scotland |
sam |
sun |
Portuguese |
xeimar |
to burn |
English |
sommer |
the hot season |
Slavic mythology |
Simzerla |
goddess of
the flowers, wife of Pagoda (the Spring deified) |
Baluchi |
shāmi |
flame-colored |
Arabic |
Sem |
Syria |
Assyrian |
Sumeru |
region of the Levant |
After the Surinen
people, the earliest known native American inhabitants
of the region.
The
southern Scandivanian country, as opposed to
Suomi. Name given by the Finns to
their country. From Finnish suo "swamp" and maa
"country", on account of its many lakes.
Named
after the Swazi people, who are the dominant ethnic group in the
country. The word "Swazi" derives from Mswati I, a former king of
In German the
country is known as Schweiz, formerly Schwyz which is still the
name of the canton situated in the heart of the
Old
High German |
wyss |
white |
German |
weiss |
white |
Gothic |
hveits |
white |
German
(Switzerl.) |
Schwytz,
Schweiz |
region of the white mountains |
Lithuanian |
svies |
light |
Lettish |
vizēt |
to
shine |
etc.
The French Swiss call their country Suisse, the Italian Swiss Svizzera
(both from the early Schwytz), the German Swiss Schweiz. The
Greek call Switzerland Helvetia, a name adopted on postage stamps, for
instance, in order to avoid spelling out its four other official names of Schweiz,
Suisse, Svizra and Svizzera; Switzerland's official
"all-in-one" Latin name is Confoederatio Helvetica (CH), from
the name of the first inhabitants of the region, known to the Ancient Greeks as
Helvetoi, the Helvets; this name derives from Alp: to the Greeks,
the Helvetoi were the people of the Alps.
From
a root signifying "red, color of dawn or the rising sun":
Akkadian |
sur |
splendour |
Persian, regional |
sur |
red |
Baluchi |
sor |
reddish |
Hebrew |
ashshur |
|
Ancient Greek |
Syria |
Assyria |
Ancient Greek |
Syros |
Anatolian solar god |
Ancient Greek |
Sēres |
a people
of eastern |
Latin (borrowing) |
syricus |
red; syricum minium |
etc.
An explanation of
The word
"Tajik" in the Iranian world, and in Sanskrit tajika, simply
means Persian. The name is from Persian tāj "tall
cap", on account of their turbans. The Tajik flag features a crown symbol
on it, in support of this explanation. The Tibetans call
A
combination of the names of two states that merged to form this country,
Taprobane. Ancient Greek name for
A corruption of Sanskrit
ta:Mradvipa "copper island" or tāmraparnā in
which one sees tāmra "copper" or "copper
colour"; the second element, in spite of a superficial resemblance, has no
relation to parna "leaf, feather, wing"
Tatar. Just as the
Greek dubbed the foreigners barbaros "the stammerers", the
Slavs called the Turcic speaking people Tatars, from a root tat-
"to stutter" etc.
Romanian |
căine-tătăresc |
Lapwing (a bird having shrill cries) |
Ukrainian |
tatarska
duša |
id. |
Russian |
tatarka |
Great Reed Warbler |
English |
tattle,
twaddle |
silly, idle talk, tittle-tattle gossip |
English |
tatter |
noise; titter to laugh in restrained way |
English |
stutter |
to stammer |
Basque |
totel |
stammerer |
From the native thai
" free" to which has been added the English
land "country". The Thai name is Prathesthay, "land of
the free" from Sanskrit pradesa "country"; more
familiarly it is called Muang Thai, in the native language muang
meaning "country".
In
Tibetan Bod or Bod Yul. The name
The eastern part
of
From
the settlement
In the
Hawaiian and Samoan languages
Tuareg, plural Targui.
A people of the
From
Arabic tergah "tribe". The Touaregs call
themselves Kel Tamashek.
From the Shagga
dialect tēnēsē, plural tines, the city of
Said to be from
a root türk "strong". The Turks were already known to the
Romans as turcae (Pliny).
"Land of the Turkmen". See
"Eight
islands" in the native speech.
From the earlier
From Slavic krai
"edge, end, frontier, region", thus: region on the frontier, and
Slavic prefix o "of, concerning, about, upon".
A
Guarani name meaning "river of birds".
A name
perhaps taken from the Golden Horde Khan Ozbeg. Uz in Turcic means
"self" and bek, of Iranian origin, means "master".
Vandals.
An
ancient people who invaded western Europe, the Iberian
peninsula, and reached
Italian |
venere |
beauty, grace |
Latin |
venustas |
beauty |
Latin |
Venus |
the goddess
of beauty; also the brightest star |
Sanscrit |
svindatati |
to be white |
Gaulish |
vindo |
white |
Gaulish |
Vindobona |
Vienna: white city |
French |
vandoise |
a white
fish of the genus Leuciscus |
German |
Winnile |
the Lombards,
a Germanic people; Vinnil was also the name of the Old Frisians, an
indication of the geographical origin of the |
Old Scandinavian |
Vendil |
the |
Latin |
Vindelici |
an
ancient people established near the |
German |
Wend |
the Sorabs (see Serb) |
Ancient
Greek |
Vendus |
city of
the Venets: |
Ancient
Greek |
Vendon |
city of the
Iapudes (an Illyrian people established in southern |
Etruscan |
Vandh |
goddess of the Earth |
Ancient
Greek |
Bendis |
Artemis for the Thracians |
Russian |
Ven |
the
Letts and the Estonians |
Slavic |
Vint |
the Slovens |
Albanian |
venitem |
I turn pale |
Italian, regional |
vénotu |
livide |
French |
blond
vénétien |
reddish-blond |
Italian |
Veneto |
the
region of |
Finnish |
Venät,
Venäja |
the Russians |
(Ancient
Greek Ouenetoi a people in
From
the Bislama language "forever on our land". The territory
was known earlier as the
Diminutive
of Venezia "
A name
corresponding to the Chinese yü nan
"beyond the south".
A
name cognate to Gael and
Wallon.
Inhabitants
of the French speaking part of
Welsh,
Welsch, Walach. Name given by the Slavic and German peoples to the
Romance speaking populations established to the South and the West. The name
results from the change g>w and means Gaulish or Gallic, as in
German |
Welsch |
the
people of Lorrain and French Switzerland |
German |
Wälsch |
the people of Tirol |
German |
Welschenland |
Italy |
German |
Wälscher Tal |
Walser
Tal, valley of the Welsch |
German |
Welschhuh |
turkey,
a bird that came to |
Polish |
Wolsz |
Italian |
By the
Slavic peoples:
Czech |
Vlach |
Romanian |
Modern
Greek |
Vlachos |
Romanian
(borrowed from Slavic) |
German |
Wallach |
Romanian
(borrowed from Slavic) |
Bulgarian |
Olah |
Romanian |
Russian |
Volod |
Romanian |
Polish |
Wloch |
Romanian,
Italian |
The
English Welsh, inhabitant of
Yāwan. The ancient Hebrew name for
The Greeks were
called Yavanah in Sanskrit, Yevana by the Egyptians, Yaunā by the Persians and Yunan by the
Baluchis. The Iaōnes (also Iōnos, Iaōnos, Ian)
were the ancient Greek inhabitants of
In
Arabic al-Yaman
meaning
"land of the south", from yaman, yamīn
"south". The translation of al-`arabiyya al-yamaniyya
into Latin Arabia Felix "happy Arabia" is due to the confusion
of yaman "the south" with yamuna "to be
happy".
"The cloudy
south", from yun "cloud" and nan
"South".
Named
after its main river, the
Named
after the river
From the Shona
language zimba we bahwe "stone houses", a reference to the
stone constructions of the 9th century found there, a unique
occurrence in