common conjoined prefix in Scottish and Irish names, from Old Celtic *makko-s "son." Cognate *makwos "son" produced Old Welsh map, Welsh mab, ap "son;" also probably cognate with Old English mago "son, attendant, servant," Old Norse mögr "son," Gothic magus "boy, servant," Old English mægð "maid" (see maiden).

Formerly often abbreviated to M' and followed by a capital letter, or spelled out Mac and then rarely used with a capital; as, M'Donald, Macdonald, McDonald.

Peruvian capital, founded 1535 by Pizarro, from Spanish corruption of Quechua (Inca) Rimak, name of a god and his temple, from rima "to speak" (perhaps a reference to priests who spoke from concealed places in statues of the gods).

capital of Republic of Congo, named for French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, who founded it in 1883. An Italian count, his title is from the Adriatic island of Brazza, now Brač in Croatia.

city of ancient Attica, capital of modern Greece, from Greek Athenai (plural because the city had several distinct parts), traditionally derived from Athena, but probably assimilated from a lost name in a pre-Hellenic language.

capital of Tibet, Tibetan, literally "city of the gods," from lha "god" + sa "city." The Lhasa apso type of dog is so called from 1935 in English, from Tibetan, literally "Lhasa terrier." Earlier name in English was Lhasa terrier (1894).

Cuban capital city, founded 1514 by Diego Velázquez as San Cristóbal de la Habana "St. Christopher of the Habana," apparently the name of a local native people. The Spanish adjective form is Habanero. Meaning "cigar made in Havana" is by 1826.

city in northern Italy, Italian Torino, Roman Augusta Taurinorum, probably from the Taurini, a Ligurian people who had a capital there, the name perhaps from Celtic *tauro "mountain" or *tur "water," but long interpreted by folk etymology as from Latin taurus "bull."

city in California, U.S., formerly the Spanish Pacific capital, named for the bay, which was named 1603 for Spanish colonist and viceroy of New Spain Conde de Monterrey. The Monterrey in Mexico also is named for him.

former name of Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, when it was the Dutch East Indies, a colony of the Netherlands; from Batavia, an ancient name for a region of Holland at the mouth of the Rhine, from Latin Batavi, a people who dwelt between the Rhine and the Waal on the island of Betawe. Related: Batavian.

1690s, capital of the Philippines, said to be from Tagalog may "there is" + nila "shrub of the indigo family," but this last element would not be a native word. It gave its name (with altered spelling) to manilla hemp (1814), the original source of manilla paper (1832); see manilla (1).