The Republican journal., 1897-07-08
Names OF Countries.
The Meaning OF some Which are Most Common
iy Known,

The Meaning OF some Which are Most Common
iy Known.
Everybody knows the origi of the name
America, but not SO many are aware that
Europe means broadface in Greek; that
Asia is the land of the dawn; and that
Africa comes from a Pnenican word
meaning black man, and is literally
1.-THE land of the blacks,' says a writer in
the Philadelphia Times. The Latin word
australls, southern, gives name to Aus
tralia. The ancients knew only the lands
around the Mediterranean, and for this
reason considered that sea Gin the middle
of the world'' The Adriatic is named
from the city of Adra, the black town,
| which was so called because it was built
up on the black soil brought down by the
river Pc.
The origin of the name Canada is un-
known. Mexico comes. from nexitl, the
Aztec war god Honduras means deep
water; Costa RIGA, rich coast, and Mica
ragua, sweet water. Venezuela, mean
ing little Venice, was so named because
some of its people built their houses over
the water, as the Venetians did. When
the Spaniard asked the Indians of a part
of Central America the name Of their
country, they answered: Guinea tan?"
w ANo ~ JOu say. J dHu LHC COuuCly
was called Yucatan in consequence. Bra
zil was SO named because the wood of
certain tree of that country was thought
to resemble in color the Goals in brazier,
Eucador means equator; Argentina, sill
yer; Chill, the land of snow; Patagonia,
the land Of big feet, and Paraguay, the
river of waters. Only men from bleak
northern ATTITUDES could have named
Greenland and Labrador; the last meaning
land that might be cultivated.
Britain is word of uncertain origin.
The name may come from the Celtic
britt, painted, applied to the inhabitants
because they painted their bodies; or
from the PhGnician baratanic, the land
of tin, because the Phmnicians visited
Cornwall for tin, England is Angleland,
the Angles being one of the Teutonic
tribes that overran the island. Scotland
is the land of Scots, or wanderers"
Ireland may derive its name from Ii,
Spanish chief. who invaded the country
early in the Christian era
The German Franks, who settled among
the Celtic tribes of Gaul, gave their name
to France, themselves deriving it from
franco, a kind of spear with which they
were armed Belgium takes it's name
from Belgae, who possessed one of the
three parts of "All Gaul'' in Caesars
time. The Suevi, another tribe mention
ed by Caesar, gave their name to Sweden.
Holland means marsh ground, and nearly
the same meaning is preserved in the
present name of the country-N ether
lands, the underlancls, OF lowlands. Den
mark is plainly the march Of territory of
the Danes.
Austria is Oesterreich, the eastern en-
pire. Prussia is the land of the Borussi,
and Russia is the country of the Russ,
Swedish tribe that overran a part of the
land and founded the empire at Novgorod
The name Germany is of uncertain ORR
Gin. BY some it is supposed to be de-
rived from Dschermania, the name of
region in central Asia. The Germani a
tribe whose name means FOLLOWERS of
Buddah,' lived in Persia in the days of
Herodotus. Switzerland gets its name
from Schweiz, the name OF the three can
tons that first asserted their independ-
ence of Austria. Spain, Latin Hispania,
comes from the Phmnician spahan, rab-
bit, the country in early time Astounding
in these animals. Portugal is derived bv
some from Portus Gale, the ancient name
of Oporto; Others find in the word portus
Galla, the gateway of Gaul. Italy comes
either from IIalus, an early tribal chief of
the country, or from the Greek italos,
young bullock. The Greeks called their
country Hellas, and themselves Hellenes,
but the Romans named the land from
Grecil, tribe Of Epirus.
Turkey means tributary people; Persia
the land of Brightness; Arabia, the dis
trict OF the desert man; Hindustan, fixed
dwelling place; Siam, dark land, from the
color of the soil, and Ceylon, lions. ia
pan is corruption of Zipangu, the name
of the country as given by Marco Polo,
the Venetian traveller, who visited it in
the 18th century.
The derivation of Egypt is unknown,
Morocco is the territory of the Moors, and
Barbary that of the Berbers Soudan
means the district of the blacks. 'The
Desert of Sahara is needless repetition,
for Sahara means desert. Gibraltar is the
''mountain of Tariff who, with a Sara
cen army, built a castle on the rock in the
eighth century In South Africa, Trans
vaal is the country beyond the Y aal river,
and Nata! owes its name to the fact that
it was discovered on Christmas, the dies
toll Of l,,;c