HOW SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD GET THEIR NAMES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 744, 10 February 1915, Page 3

HOW SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD GET THEIR NAMES.

Asia), the oldest continent known to man } gets its name from the Sanskrit svork "Ushas,' 5 meaning "land of the ■J awn." Europe is derived from the 3-reek words meaning "the broad face Df the earth.Some scholars, however, believe that the name comes from the Hebrew word meaning "the land of the setting sun." The ancient peopl* of the east knew little of Europe, save that it was the land where the sun set, so they have called it "The land of the setting sun." Algiers is a newer spelling of the Arabic name "A 1 Jezair," meaning "the peninsula." Arabia, which stands for "Arab-ia," means "men of the desert." Austria is the modern form of the name given to that country by Charlesmagno, "Oesterreich," which! meant "Eastern Kingdom," so-called to distinguish it from Charlesmagne's empire in western Europe. China, the name we give to a great empire in the Far East, is not the name used by the people of that country. Indeed, the name "China" is never heard in that larid, : swliere various names are given to territories which make up their empire. The word is believed to have come from "Tsina," the "Land of Tsin," and named from the ruler wlio built the great wall of China. The country used to be known to the Eng-lish-speaking world as "Cathy." France is the modern name of the country which used to be called Gaul, shortened from the Greek name, '•'Galatia." The Gauls were the original possessors of the land, but the Franks, moving out of the German province of Franconia, conquered the land and called it France, or "Franltreich." Germany was formerly called "Inonges," but the Romans borrowed a word from the Gauls meaning neighbours, and gave it a Roman form—"Ger* manus." Holland comes from the old Danish name "Ollant," meaning "marshy ground." Italy got its name from a king by the name of Italus, 'who once ruled r over that part of the world. •Japan is a word never heard in the land we call by that name. The Japanese name for their country ia Nippon, which means "land of the rising sun." Russia takes its name from a tribe called the Russ, which seized the land long ago. Spain is the English form given to the country, "Hispania" or "Espane." The name comes from an old-time word, "Span," meaning rabbit. The Catknginians found the country overrun by these animals, and called the land after them.