Skip to main content

Where do the names of the countries come from?

All of us live in some country .Sometimes it is the one of our birth and other times the host, however: have you asked yourself why it is called like that ? You may know the origin of the name of your country, but do you know where the country names come from ? We have chosen a dozen to investigate its etymology; some because they are where they live more Lifestyles and others because we have found them interesting.We must not forget that the etymology is not an exact science and, in some cases, there are several possible origins .We have collected the most common ones.

Where do the names of the countries come from?

Spain

The name of Spain comes from the Latin voice Hispania and is in turn the name of the merchants Phoenicians: «Ish Fannim» , which means "island of rabbits" .The peninsula is also known as Iberia that comes from the Greek Hesperia and this was the garden that inhabited the Hesperides, nymphs of fruit trees.Hesperia would be something similar to the earthly paradise.

Mexico

Surely comes from "Mexica" , which is how the Aztecs called themselves in honor of Huitzilopochtli, his god , who was also called "Mexi" or "Mexicali" ; although there are many authors who propose a much more poetic origin .It will come from nahuatl , and it would be the union of metz (-tli) which means moon , xic (-tli) which means navel and-co which would be in , therefore «in the navel of the moon» .name would make reference to the lake in which the islets that constituted the capital of the Aztec empire were and had the shape of a rabbit, the same shape that has the shadow that is seen inside the full moon.

Where do the names of the countries come from?

There are many other possible interpretations for this origin.The Spaniards Castilianized the name and called it Mexico or Mexico.

Chile

It is the most enigmatic of the names of the countries we will deal with.Since the end of the 16th century the name comes from.It is known that before the discovery , the They already called "Chili" to the area that remained by under the Atacama Desert .It seems that in Quechua "chili" means "confin" and so the Incas called the part that was further south of the empire."Chili" derived in Chile.

Peru

The natives who inhabited in the land that is below Panama , they were interrogated by the Spanish conquerors about the name the area received.They answered by calling it «Biru» that it was actually the name of the cacique that dominated those lands, they were the domain of Biru, from there derived to «Piru» and finally took the name of Peru .

Venezuela

There are two different versions for the origin of «Venezuela«.On the one hand it seems that the name was given by Americo Vespucio himself , at that the area of ​​Lake Maracaibo, with its rooms built gone on stilts, I remind you of the city of Venice .I call it Venezziola, a small Venice.On the other, some historians believe that can come from a settlement at the entrance from the lake that was called Venezuela, and that would mean "big water" in one of the languages ​​of the area.

Argentina

Simplifying the story, which has a lot and varied documentation, Argentina comes from the Latin word "argentum" which means "silver" .Among the conquerors the rumor spread that following the great river you would reach some incredible deposits of silver.The river was called Rio de la Plata and the area around it, Argentine land or land of silver .It is stated in the documentation and literature since 1587.

Philippines

Philippines owes its name to King Philip II .This was the king of Spain when the conquest and subsequent colonization of the islands took place.

Where do the names of the countries come from?

France

France is the "land inhabited by the Franks" and the Franks were the Germanic people that in the fifth century invaded Gaul."Franco" would be related to the German word "frei" which means "free", since that tribe considered not subject to other peoples.

Ireland

In English, Ireland is Ireland and comes from Gaelic Eireann, that has its root in the voice Eire.Eire would mean "fertile place" or place where the goddess Eriu lived.

Portugal

It comes from Latin « Portus Cale » and possibly the name of « Cale » refers to the town that lived near what is now Porto which means« the port ».The name of "port of Cale" was not limited to that settlement and soon designated the entire region between the Mino and the Douro. "Porto Cale" derived in Portugal .

Yes you like the etymology and you have been interested to know where the names of the countries come from, maybe you want to know where the names of the colors come from.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The case of the dancer who sleeps for 10 days in a row

Louise Ball is 23 years old and since she was 14, she suffers from Sleeping Beauty syndrome.Under this rather popular terminology we already talked about in Lifestyle, a neurological disease known as Kleine is actually hidden -Levin. The etiology of this disease is unknown today, and although it almost always affects the male gender, the case of Louise Ball seems to be a unique exception. This young British woman tries to maintain her training as a dancer , dance is her passion, that world of overcoming only had episodes where the dream and sleepiness, separates her from reality to disconnect her from the world between 8 and 10 days. Leaving aside the curious of the case, it is important to remember how complex and hard it must be the day to day of these people.Today in Lifestyle we want to individualize the Kleine-Levin Syndrome, so that you know to Louise Ball. Are you with us? The case of b ailarina who sleeps for 10 days in a row When she was 14 years old her life c...
Post a Comment
Read more

5 powerful natural antibiotics

Although there are records of use of antibiotics in China 2,500 years ago, it was not until the forties of the last century that the first drugs of this class were fully developed.Since then this item has occupied a prominent place in the world pharmaceutical industry, although, without having turned the century, difficulties and doubts about the effectiveness of these drugs developed in laboratories are beginning to arise. These problems, resistance by the Bacteria to the most used medications, have made many have turned their eyes to natural antibiotics, which are generally closer than you think. 5 powerful natural antibiotics 1.Garlic ( Allium sativum ) This plant is probably native to Western Asia and is an extremely popular ingredient ar and known since ancient times, in cultures such as Greek, Roman or Indian.It not only serves to repel vampires, with more than 60 antiviral and antibacterial components, it is considered one of the most potent natural antibiotics. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The first church made with live trees

Making wooden cabins could be an obligatory activity in the childhood of any infant.Many are the little ones who have dedicated a large part of the afternoons and weekends to collect materials and build a shelter, without having to have a instruction book for this.To finish corroborating it, in this Lifestyle entry we talk about how a church with live trees was built, nothing more, nothing less! Do not miss it! A church built from live trees Barry Cox , decided to build a church with live trees, as expressed: “I left home through the back door and I thought: that place needs a church,” so Cox began building the building with trees in April 2011.The location was near Cambridge, in New Zealand, the same location where it I record the famous triology of "The Lord of the Rings." To begin with, the walls were created with an Australian tea tree , thanks to its thick foliage and its color that is similar to that of the stone, I recreate the environment that the space req...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is it healthy to have sex while pregnant? Revealing data!

In a previous article we talked about various myths and beliefs about pregnancy, and one of them was precisely the issue of intimate relationships during pregnancy. In this post we want to delve a little more and talk to you not only about the convenience or not of making love at this stage, but also about the possible effects that this practice would have on the baby.Are you with us? Intimate relationships Maintaining relationships is always good, as we told you in another article about the benefits of making love every day.However, many pregnant women are concerned that such activities are not recommended or healthy, for them and for the fetus. The truth is that if your pregnancy has no complications, there are no medical or physical reasons for not having intimate relationships, even every day (of course, if you feel like it and time...).In fact, you can do it even before delivery, you will not be in danger, and neither will your baby.And from a more intimate point of view,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sigaus Challenge: play minigames to take care of the environment

SIGAUS is a non-profit entity that is in charge of financing both the collection and treatment of used industrial oils generated in Spain, of approximately 120,000 tons per year.Due to its composition, it is low-biodegradable waste and highly polluting for health and the environment. In order for it to be collected and treated correctly to be reused later and converted into new products that do not negatively impact our environment, SIGAUS has launched its latest environmental awareness campaign: the SIGAUS Challenge. Sigaus Challenge: play minigames to take care of the environment Challenge SIGAUS is a contest whose objective is let users know how they can contribute to a sustainable development of the environment if they go to change the used oil of their car to an authorized workshop.To do this, they propose 4 fun games that simulate the cycle management of used industrial oil, from its extraction and storage, to its collection and final treatment. Available on their Fac...
Post a Comment
Read more

Does your ex want you to be friends? Watch out! Science has a theory

If you have recently noticed that your ex has removed you from his Facebook friends, it could be because he has heard about a new somewhat disturbing psychological investigation. Does your ex want you to be friends? Watch out! Science has a theory A study published by researchers at the University of Oakland found that people with "dark" personality traits, that is, those who are generally unpleasant, manipulators and exploiters, they were more likely to be friends with former for practical and sexual reasons. This is how researchers came to these conclusions.First, asked about out of 350 people who gave a lot of reasons to continue maintaining friendship with a former .They divided the reasons into 150 factors that in turn assigned to different categories that included; reliability, sentimentality, pragmatism and sexual access. For example, "I knew how to listen" would go into reliability or sentimentality ; "I could borrow money" would ent...
Post a Comment
Read more

6 ways to make our lives bitter

Sometimes we get bitter without really being aware of it .That's why it's important to discover some ways we have to make our lives bitter.It's not like we want everything to go wrong or be unhappy , just that our habits are not the most appropriate. Do we learn to change them? 6 ways to make our lives bitter Our mind, sometimes it seems to turn against us .We turn the tortilla around everything that could be much simpler.But no, it seems that it is much easier to choose the difficult path. Here are some ways to make our lives bitter.that you feel identified with one. Which one prevails in you? 1.Think about the bad instead of solving it What is negative about your life? Maybe you have that friend that you don't like how he acts or how he uses you, maybe you worry about a situation because instead of taking action you just think…. To solve all that in what What are you thinking, it is necessary to act! Thinking too much is not positive, it will mak...
Post a Comment
Read more

The horrifying delusional parasites

For psychopathology, a delirium is a situation or belief that is lived as real , with deep conviction, despite all the evidence proving otherwise.Mental disturbance is usually caused by a disease or disorder in which restlessness, disordered ideas and hallucinations come together.One of the most terrible delusions is Delusional Parasitosis. Can you imagine what it must be to feel that your skin is full of bugs and that no matter how much you do you can't get rid of them? The horrifying Delusional Parasitosis It He is also known as "delusional infestation" or "Ekbom syndrome" .The person who suffers it believes that his skin is infested with bugs, parasites or insects , when It really has nothing .It is accompanied by tactile hallucinations and you can think that animals run both above or below of the epidermis.It is common for those who suffer to cause injury trying to get rid of parasites.To diagnose it requires the contest of a psychiatr...
Post a Comment
Read more

10 things you didn't know about testosterone

Testosterone is a hormone that is traditionally associated with the masculine, but which we also produce, as we explain in a very interesting article on Lifestyle . In this post, we are going to talk about some characteristics of this super hormone that people may not know, but that are of great interest to everyone. Join us. 10 facts about testosterone 1.In the first two weeks of gestation, the fetus is always female .After this time the development of the male reproductive organs begins (in if the baby is male). This hormone is produced in the testicles, in the ovaries and in the adrenal glands of both sexes. 2.After birth, testosterone has a role important in the distribution of fat that goes to the production of red blood cells. 3.Long before the testosterone was discovered, sexual powers were already attributed to the testicles ; This is how Pliny the Elder noticed it, which studied the stimulating effects on libido by recommending hyena genitals for dinner (sea...
Post a Comment
Read more

The "torture" exercised by China to achieve perfect gymnasts

We are all used to seeing how in the Olympics, the Chinese medalist accumulates one gold after another.They are perfect in their techniques, so much so that it is very often suspected if their Olympic glory will be perhaps related to doping. It is possible.However, there is an even clearer reality: there is no drug harder than a ferreo training and a well molded brain, there where a scrupulous preparation of a mind and a young body for perfection has been carried out. And indeed, in Chinese instruction suffering, extreme pain and tears are not excluded, many tears … We are aware that every gymnast, every athlete, fights every day for her own improvement , for that second most blown to the wind, to the pool , to that perfect execution where each step does not deviate a centimeter from where it should go. But when you look at Chinese athletes, you have the clear sen Sacion of seeing an android, a being where "error" has no place .In fact, this is how they are tr...
Post a Comment
Read more