America
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from New LatinCategory:English terms borrowed from New Latin#AMERICACategory:English learned borrowings from New Latin#AMERICACategory:English terms derived from New Latin#AMERICA America, feminine Latinized form of the Italian first name of Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). Amerigo is an ItalianCategory:English terms derived from Italian#AMERICA name derived from a GermanicCategory:English terms derived from Germanic languages#AMERICA language and is etymologically related to Henry and Emmerich. The earliest known use of America for the (South) American continent is on a 1507 map by Martin Waldseemüller;[1][2] see Naming of the Americas for more.
Although this is the most widely accepted derivation, it has also been suggested that it could originate from the name of the Amerrisque mountains in Nicaragua (from MayanCategory:English terms derived from Mayan languages#AMERICA), and another disputed theory is that it derives from the surname of Richard Amerike (1440–1503), whose surname is an anglicised form of Welsh ap Meurig (“son of Meurig”), from Old WelshCategory:English terms derived from Old Welsh#AMERICA Mouric, which could be a rendition of Latin Mauritius (compare Maurice).[3]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kə/Category:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
- (weak vowel merger) IPA(key): /əˈmɛɹ.ə.kə/, /əˈmɛɹ.kə/Category:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English 3-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
- (Indic) IPA(key): /əm(ɛ)ˈrɪkɑ/, /əˈmerɪkɑ/Category:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
- (nonstandard) IPA(key): /əˈmɚ.ɪ.kə/, /əˈmɚ.ə.kə/Category:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
- (obsolete) IPA(key): /əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.keɪ/, /əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kɔː/Category:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA[4]
Proper noun
America (plural Americas)Category:English lemmas#AMERICACategory:English proper nouns#AMERICACategory:English countable nouns#AMERICACategory:English entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA
- A supercontinent consisting of North America, Central America and South America regarded as a whole; in full, the AmericasCategory:en:America#AMERICACategory:en:Continents and continental regions#AMERICA.
- 1847, Joseph Dalton Hooker, “On the Vegetation of the Galapagos Archipelago, as compared with that of some other Tropical Islands and of the Continent of America”, in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, , pages 235–262:
- The results of my examination ... for the most part allied to plants of the cooler part of America, or the uplands of the tropical latitudes ...Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 1890, Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 796:
- the Marsupials or pouched animals, being found throughout the continent of America, from the United States to PatagoniaCategory:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 691:
- Franciscan attitudes in the Canaries offered possible precedents for what Europe now came to call ‘the New World’, or, through a somewhat tangled chain of circumstances, ‘America’.Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- A country in North America; in full, United States of AmericaCategory:en:Countries in North America#AMERICA.
- 1837, George Sand, translated by Stanley Young, Mauprat, Cassandra Editions, published 1977, →ISBN, page 237:
- For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall of the houses he visited, and it appeared to him that this war in America, which was hailed as the awakening of the spirit of liberty and justice in the New World, ought to produce a revolution in France.Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 1945 April 16, Harry S. Truman, 10:06 from the start, in MP72-20 President Roosevelt’s Funeral and Procession; Truman – New President of U.S., Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:
- So that there can be no possible misunderstanding, both Germany and Japan can be certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that America will continue to fight for freedom until no vestige of resistance remains. Our demand has been and it remains unconditional surrender.Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 2004, Trey Parker, “America, Fuck Yeah”:
- America, fuck yeah! / Comin' again to save the motherfuckin' day, yeah!Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, page 74:
- In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 2014 July 27, “Nuclear Weapons”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 12, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:
- And once gain, America is saved from destruction by the heroes in “MEAL Team Six”.Category:English terms with quotations#AMERICA
- 2022 April 3, Roisin Conaty & al., Big Fat Quiz of Everything, Channel 4:
- Captain America, how did he get his powers?
I think he... he got bitten by America.
- Captain America, how did he get his powers?
- A female given nameCategory:English given names#AMERICACategory:English female given names#AMERICA.
- A town in Limburg, NetherlandsCategory:en:Towns in Limburg, Netherlands#AMERICACategory:en:Towns in the Netherlands#AMERICACategory:en:Places in Limburg, Netherlands#AMERICACategory:en:Places in the Netherlands#AMERICA.
Usage notes
- In English, the unqualified term America often refers to the United States of America as a synecdoche, with American typically referring to people and things from that country. The sense of the Americas varies in commonness between regions in contemporary English, but is found in certain circumstances, such as in reference to the Organization of American States.
Synonyms
- (North and South America) Americas
- (United States of America)
Derived terms
- Afro-America
- All-America
- Amasia
- American
- Americana
- Americaness
- Americaphobe
- Americaphobic
- America's Hat
- Americaward
- Americawards
- America-wide
- Americentric
- Amerikkka
- Amerithrax
- Ameritopia
- Anglo-America
- Aridoamerica
- British America
- Central America
- Chimerica
- Crossroads of America
- Euramerica
- Excited States of America
- Generica
- God bless America
- Gulf of America
- Ibero-America
- Islamerica
- Isramerica
- Jewmerica
- Mesoamerica
- Mexamerica
- Mid-America
- 'Murica
- NorAm
- North America
- Oasisamerica
- South America
- United States of America
- Weimerica
- when America sneezes, the world catches a cold
- Young America
Descendants
Translations
See also
References
- ↑ Merriam-Webster Online, Mapping Out the Naming of 'America'
- ↑ “Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii alioru[m]que lustrationes.”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), 8 September 2014 (last accessed), archived from the original on 9 January 2009; Martin Waldseemüller (18 April 2014 (last accessed)), “Universalis cosmographia secundum Ptholomaei traditionem et Americi Vespucii alioru[m]que lustrationes”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), Washington, DC: Library of Congress, →LCCN
- ↑ The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. (2016). United Kingdom: OUP Oxford, p. 1881
- ↑ Krapp, George Philip (1925), The English Language in America, volume II, New York: Century Co. for the Modern Language Association of America, →OCLC, page 49.
Further reading
Category:English eponyms#AMERICA
Dutch
Etymology
First attested as Amerika in 1838-1857. Derived from New LatinCategory:Dutch terms derived from New Latin#AMERICA America. The settlement was named for its remote location.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑˈmeː.ri.kaː/Category:Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
Category:Dutch terms with audio pronunciation#AMERICAAudio: (file) - Hyphenation: Ame‧ri‧ca
- Homophone: AmerikaCategory:Dutch terms with homophones#AMERICA
Proper noun
America nCategory:Dutch lemmas#AMERICACategory:Dutch proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Dutch entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Dutch neuter nouns#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA
References
- van Berkel, Gerard; Samplonius, Kees (2018), Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN
Italian
Etymology
From New LatinCategory:Italian terms derived from New Latin#AMERICA America.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aˈmɛ.ri.ka/Category:Italian 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:Italian terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
- Rhymes: -ɛrikaCategory:Rhymes:Italian/ɛrika#AMERICACategory:Rhymes:Italian/ɛrika/4 syllables#AMERICA
- Hyphenation: A‧mè‧ri‧ca
Proper noun
America fCategory:Italian lemmas#AMERICACategory:Italian proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Italian uncountable proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Italian entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Italian feminine nouns#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA
- America, the Americas (a supercontinent consisting of North America, Central America and South America regarded as a whole; in full, the Americas)Category:it:America#AMERICACategory:it:America#AMERICACategory:it:America#AMERICACategory:it:Continents and continental regions#AMERICA
Derived terms
Descendants
- →⇒ Slavomolisano: Lamerika
Anagrams
Latin
Etymology
Feminine form of Americus, the Latinized form of the forename of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). Amerigo is the ItalianCategory:Latin terms derived from Italian#AMERICA form of a GermanicCategory:Latin terms derived from Germanic languages#AMERICA personal name (see Emmerich).
First recorded in 1507 (together with the related term Amerigen) in the Cosmographiae Introductio, apparently written by Matthias Ringmann, in reference to South America;[1] first applied to both North and South America by Mercator in 1538. Amerigen means "land of Amerigo" and derives from Amerigo and gen, the accusative case of Greek gē "earth". America accorded with the feminine names of Asia, Africa, and Europa.[2]
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [a.mɛˈriː.ka]Category:Latin 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [aˈmɛː.ri.ka]Category:Latin 4-syllable words#AMERICACategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICACategory:Latin terms with Ecclesiastical IPA pronunciation only#AMERICA
- Note: the length of the /i/ should be long, and that form is well-attested in Latin literature; for example, Rafael Landívar's Rusticatio Mexicana. This form is mostly attested in poetry, and it corresponds more closely to the Italian pronunciation of Amerigo.[3] Nevertheless, in Ecclesiastical Latin, due to analogy with Italian America, the stress is instead shifted to the third-to-last syllable, implying the /i/ to be short.
Proper noun
Amerī̆ca f (genitive Amerī̆cae)Category:Latin lemmas#AMERICACategory:Latin proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Latin first declension nouns#AMERICACategory:Latin feminine nouns in the first declension#AMERICACategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Latin feminine nouns#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA; first declension
- (New LatinCategory:New Latin#AMERICA) America, the Americas (a supercontinent consisting of North America, Central America and South America regarded as a whole; in full, the Americas)Category:la:America#AMERICACategory:la:America#AMERICACategory:la:America#AMERICACategory:la:Continents and continental regions#AMERICA
Declension
First-declension noun.
Descendants
- → Bulgarian: Аме́рика (Amérika)
- Dutch: Amerika, America
- English: America
- Italian: America
- →⇒ Slavomolisano: Lamerika
- → Macedonian: Аме́рика (Amérika)
- Occitan: America
- Romanian: America
- → Russian: Аме́рика (Amérika)
- → Eastern Mari: Америке (Amerike)
- → Serbo-Croatian: Аме́рика
- → Ukrainian: Аме́рика (Améryka)
- → Welsh: America
References
- America in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- ↑ John R. Hebert, "The Map That Named America: Library Acquires 1507 Waldseemüller Map of the World" (), Information Bulletin, Library of Congress
- ↑ Toby Lester, "Putting America on the Map", Smithsonian, 40:9 (December 2009)
- ↑ Juan Gil (2010), “America”, in Myrtia (in Spanish), volume 25, →ISSN, pages 187-194
Occitan
Etymology
From New LatinCategory:Occitan terms borrowed from New Latin#AMERICACategory:Occitan terms derived from New Latin#AMERICA America.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ameˈɾiko̞/Category:Occitan terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
Proper noun
America fCategory:Occitan lemmas#AMERICACategory:Occitan proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Occitan entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Occitan feminine nouns#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA
- America, the Americas (a supercontinent consisting of North America, Central America and South America regarded as a whole; in full, the Americas)Category:oc:America#AMERICACategory:oc:America#AMERICACategory:oc:America#AMERICACategory:oc:Continents and continental regions#AMERICA
Derived terms
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from LatinCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from Latin#AMERICACategory:Romanian terms derived from Latin#AMERICA America.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [aˈme.ri.ka]Category:Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation#AMERICA
Proper noun
America f (plural Americi)Category:Romanian lemmas#AMERICACategory:Romanian proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Romanian feminine nouns#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA
- America, the Americas (a supercontinent consisting of North America, Central America and South America regarded as a whole; in full, the Americas)Category:ro:America#AMERICACategory:ro:America#AMERICACategory:ro:America#AMERICACategory:ro:Continents and continental regions#AMERICA
- America, United States of America (a country in North America; in full, United States of America)Category:ro:United States#AMERICACategory:ro:Countries in North America#AMERICA
Declension
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative-accusative | Americă | America | Americi | Americile |
| genitive-dative | Americi | Americii | Americi | Americilor |
| vocative | America, Americă | Americilor | ||
Derived terms
Related terms
Welsh
Etymology
From New LatinCategory:Welsh terms borrowed from New Latin#AMERICACategory:Welsh terms derived from New Latin#AMERICA America.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
America fCategory:Welsh lemmas#AMERICACategory:Welsh proper nouns#AMERICACategory:Welsh entries with incorrect language header#AMERICACategory:Welsh feminine nouns#AMERICACategory:Pages with entries#AMERICACategory:Pages with 7 entries#AMERICA
- America, the Americas (a supercontinent consisting of North America, Central America and South America regarded as a whole; in full, the Americas)Category:cy:America#AMERICACategory:cy:America#AMERICACategory:cy:America#AMERICACategory:cy:Continents and continental regions#AMERICA
- America, United States of America (a country in North America; in full, United States of America)Category:cy:United States#AMERICACategory:cy:Countries in North America#AMERICA
Derived terms
- America Ladin (“Latin America”)
- Americanaidd (“American”)
- Americanes (“American woman”)
- Americanwr (“American man”)
- Canolbarth America (“Central America”)
- De America (“South America”)
- ffaldwellt America (“American yardgrass”)
- Gogledd America (“North America”)
- llus America (“blueberries”)
- robin America (“American robin”)
- Unol Daleithiau America (“United States of America”)
Related terms
- yr Amerig (“the Americas”)
See also
Mutation
| radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
|---|---|---|---|
| America | unchanged | unchanged | Hamerica |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.