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The naming of the Americas, or America, occurred shortly after Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492. It is generally accepted that the name derives from Amerigo Vespucci , the Italian explorer, who explored the new continents in the following years on behalf of Spain and Portugal .
- Ferdinand Bada
- Africa. This name can be attributed to the Romans who referred to what is present-day Tunisia as “Africa terra.” Africa terra can be translated to mean “land of the Afri” (plural) or “land of the Afer” (singular).
- Europe. The origins of this name come from the Latin word “Europa,” which traces its origins to the Greek language. One school of thought argues that the name traces back to ancient Greek mythology.
- Oceania. The origin of this name is fairly simple. Oceania stems from the English word “ocean” which refers to a large water body. However, it ultimately comes from the Greek word “Okeanos” which means a great water body (sea or river) surrounding the earth.
- Asia. This name comes from the word Ἀσία’ from Ancient Greek. Initially, it was used to refer to the eastern bank of the Aegean Sea but was later used to refer to the region of Anatolia.
German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller is credited with first using the name America in 1507 on a large 12-panel map based on traveling accounts of explorers of the New World, and in particular those of Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
Aug 9, 2019 · It has been suggested that the name America was borrowed from the surname "Amerike" or “ap Meryk” and became widely used in the maps that were common in Britain, although the maps have since been lost. The name Richard ap Meryk was anglicized and became Richard Amerike or Ameryk.
The English name Norway comes from the Old English word Norþweg mentioned in 880, meaning "northern way" or "way leading to the north", which is how the Anglo-Saxons referred to the coastline of Atlantic Norway.
Several names of the United States of America are in common use. Alternatives to the full name include "the United States", the initialisms "the U.S." and "the U.S.A.", and the informal "America"; colloquial names include "the States" and "the U.S. of A." It is generally accepted that the name "America" derives from the Italian explorer Amerigo ...
Mar 29, 2011 · Was John Cabot the first European to discover America? How did the continent get its name? Peter Macdonald unravels a 15th-century story and challenges conventional thought.
