Friday, February 4, 2011

A World Map for Word Nerds

Interesting way to look at the world - by what the nation names mean.  (Click on the map to jump to it on the web and take a closer look.) Political map for comparison.
There is some dispute over how accurate the place names are.  One of the problems with this kind of effort is how far back to go in determining the meaning.  For example, "United States of Amerigo"... yes, the name derives from a prominent Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci.  But, let's note the meaning of Amerigo (in German: Emmerich) is a compound word: work + rich, powerful, ruler.  United States of Rich & Powerful Rulers by virtue of our Work.  Let's hear our American president brag about that on his next apology tour!

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