Places

[bluedog]

Which country's name is said to derive from the Spanish 'nothing there'?

Thankyou.

[Hammond Egg]

At a guess, Canada.

[shaneystar2]

Canada is correct .... It is commonly thought to derive from a Spanish cartographer who wrote on the early map of the land mass 'Aca-Nada', or 'nothing here'.

[Thunderbird+]

Namibia

[shaneystar2]

I have to disagree !
Namibia is from the coastal Namib Desert. "Namib" means "area where there is nothing" in the Nama language previously called Hottentot, the most populous and widespread of the Khoisan languages.

[Clanad]

Alternately, thus from an offcial Canadian government site:

The name "Canada"
The name Canada derives from the Huron-Iroquois word Kanata, which means village or settlement. The term was used to describe Stadacona (the current site of Quebec city) by two Amerindians who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his 1535 return voyage from France.

We all know the name of our country but have you ever wondered where it is written down? "Canada" as the legal name of our country is found in section 3 of the Constitution Act, 1867 which states "... shall form and be One Dominion under the Name of Canada; ... " ("...ne formeront qu'une seule et m�me puisssance sous le nom de Canada; ...")

Or here:

http://www.patrimoinecanadien.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o5_e.cfm

[Clanad]

Additionally, 'there' in Spanish relative to a place (lugar) is Alli... therefore the correct form for the Spanish phrase "nothing there' would be 'nada alli'... in my opinion...

[maxximus]

clanad- i was almost taking offense ( in the nicest way of course ) until i read your post, we have a television commercial that tells the native story about the village in a re-innactment. surely you must be a teacher or researcher of sorts,i have read several of your posts and i'm always most impressed with the depth, knowledge and detail of your answers. you sir or madam if you prefer, are a master!!

[heathfield]

Dried cod was a staple food in Portugal. The Portugese found that the further west they went, the more cod they found. They had been fishing the Grand Banks off Newfoundland for very many years before Columbus 'discovered' the Americas. Anxious to hide this knowledge from the rest of Europe, when asked what lay far to the west, they replied 'Ca nada' - 'There, nothing' All explained in K G McIntyre's "Secret Discovery of Australia" (a fascinating book!) in describing the historical background behind the main theme.

[Clanad]

Even if one was to assume that the surmise you relate occurred, heathfield, how does that possibly relate to the naming of Canada as a nation?

[Clanad]

Additionally, my source, since I'm not conversant in Portuguese, indicates the phrase 'there's nothing' would be n�o tem nada... or perhaps, n�o h� nada...

[Clanad]

... and, you're very kind, maxximus (Decimus Meridius?)... however, as I suspect with other astute contributor's to this site such as Q and perhaps andy-hughes, I depend a great deal on readily available reference material. I know Q, especially, sleeps with his OED at side... nevertheless, one usually has at least an inkling of an answer before researching the details. Additionally, I limit my participation to those threads that I have at least a de minimus of knowledge... I don't think I've ever opened the Adverts topic for example, certainly not Body and Soul now, nor Sport, but only because it, rightly so, focuses on U.K. and European sports...

By the way, are you Canadien? Eh?

[heathfield]

Hi Clanad - I'll tighten things up a bit...I perhaps shouldn't have said 'There, nothing' but more like 'There's nothing here' shortened to 'Here, nothing' which is 'Aqui, nada', corrupted into the vernacular 'Ca nada'. (See Shaneystar2's post, above). There are persistent rumours that the Iriquois, and the Hurons too, picked this expression up from the Portugese, and as a result the term simply spread. In Lisbon there's a mosaic memorial to 'The Discoverer of America'. No, not Columbus, but one Joao Vaz Cortereal, who got there 20 years earlier. (The Azores were settled in 1452. From there it's 1100 miles to Cape Race - a Portugese name, by the way - 'Cabo Raso') The first (post-prehistoric) European settlement in North America wasn't the Spanish in Florida, nor the British in North Carolina or Virginia, but was established by the Portugese at Ingonish in Nova Scotia. Fascinating subject, and no doubt controversy will rule !!

P.S. I really recommend McIntyre's book if you can find a copy - seriously, an eye-opener.

[mightyWBA]

You lot have never been to Dudley.

It derives its name from the Spanish "dood de laya",which was given to it after a visit to West Bromwich by Spanish ambassador Juan de Focha in 1654.

Whilst changing carriages on his journey to Stourbridge,the Spaniard stretched his legs around the town only to find it devoid of anything worthwhile,hence its name."dood"(don't)" de laya" (bother stopping)

This was later Anglicised to Dudley.

On the other hand it could be Belgium.

[maxximus]

yes, canadian . whe're rough and tough and hard to bluff and live above the forty ninth parallel , you know it eh!!

[maxximus]

there are oppinions as to who discovered north america, there have been chinese artifacts discovered on vancouver island that supposedly pr-date columbus, the vikings settled in newfoundland long before him ina place they called vin land i believe,and there is a story about an irish monk in, off the top of my head , the twelfth century. i seen all these on documentaries over the years all very interesting, i'm a little sketchy on details but one could look into it. but if i'm not mistaken all these so called discoverers were always treated pretty hospitably when they arrived. dinner ,tea, a little after dinner tobacco and a place to sleep.