Canadian capital, founded 1827 as Bytown, named for English officer John By, who oversaw construction of the canal there; renamed 1854, when it became capital, for the Ottawa River, which took its name from the Algonquian people who lived in Michigan and Ontario. Their name is said to be from adawe "to trade."

"pertaining to Sparta," 1709, from Latin Lacedaemonius, from Greek Lakedaimonios, from Lakedaimon, an ancient Greek name for Sparta as the capital of Lakonia (see laconic). From 1713 as a noun.

capital of Colombia, founded 1530s, the name is from Chibcha (an indigenous language) Bacata, native name of a settlement of the Muisca people that stood there when the Spanish arrived.

1829 (n.), "member of a Slavic race living mostly in the Carpathians, north of Hungary and east of Moravia; 1887 as an adjective, from French Slovak, from the people's own self-designation(compare Slovak and Czech Slovak, plural Slovaci; Polish Słowak; Russian Slovak; German Slowake). Related: Slovakian; Slovakish.

capital of France, from Gallo-Latin Lutetia Parisorum (in Late Latin also Parisii), name of a fortified town of the Gaulish tribe of the Parisii, who had a capital there; literally "Parisian swamps" (see Lutetian).

The tribal name is of unknown origin, but it is traditionally derived from a Celtic par "boat" (perhaps related to Greek baris; see barge (n.)), hence the ship on the city's coat of arms.

capital of Bosnia, founded 15c. and named in Turkish as Bosna-Saray, "Palace on the (River) Bosna," from saray (see caravanserai); the modern name is a Slavic adjectival form of saray.

Venezuelan capital, founded 1567 by the Spaniards on the site of a razed village of the Caracas people, whose name is of unknown origin, and named for them.

city in eastern India, former capital of British India, named for Hindu goddess Kali. In modern use often de-Englished as Kolkata.

capital of Slovenia, the name is popularly associated with the Slavic word ljub "dear," but it is probably pre-Slavic and of obscure origin. The German form, Laibach, is from the Roman name, Labacum.

capital of Slovakia, a Slavic settlement named for its founder or chief; the name is the same element in the first half of the German name for the city, Pressburg (9c.).