common in Welsh place names, literally "St. Mary's Church," from Welsh llan "church" (see land (n.)) + Mair "Mary," with lentition of m- to f-.
masc. proper name, from French, from German Lambert, from Old High German Lambreht, from lant "land" (see land (n.)) + beraht "bright" (from PIE root *bhereg- "to shine; bright, white."). Old English cognate was Landbeorht. The English popularity of the name 12c. and after probably is due to immigration from Flanders, where St. Lambert of Maestricht was highly venerated. Attested as a surname from mid-12c.
translating Old Norse Groenland, so named by its discoverer (986 C.E.) because "it would induce settlers to go there, if the land had a good name":
Hann gaf nafn landinu ok kallaði Groenland, ok kvað menn þat myndu fysa þangat farar, at landit ætti nafn gott. [Islendingabok, 1122-1133]
See green (adj.) + land (n.). Related: Greenlander; Greenlandish.
masc. proper name, from French, from Old High German Hrodland, literally "(having a) famous land," from hrod- "fame, glory" (from Proto-Germanic *hrothi-) + land (see land (n.)). The name of the legendary nephew of Charlemagne, celebrated in "Chanson de Roland" (c. 1300) and suchlike romances. His comrade was Oliver, hence a Roland for an Oliver (1610s) in expressions meaning "to give as good as one gets, tit for tat."
peninsula on the coast of Dorsetshire, literally "land surrounding a harbor," Old English Portlanda; see port (n.1) + land (n.). The city in Maine, U.S.A., took its name in 1786 for the place in England. Portland, Oregon, was said to have been named for the city in Maine, which won the honor by a coin toss over Boston. Portland cement (1720) was named by its inventor, English mason Joseph Aspdin, from resemblance of the color to the popular building stone of Portland, England. Related: Portlandian.
Himalayan land between Tibet and India, from Sanskrit bhota "Tibet" + anta "end." The local name is said to be Druk Yul "Land of the Dragon." Related: Bhutanese.
southeasternmost county of England, Old English Cent, Cent lond, Centrice, from Latin Cantia, Canticum (Caesar), Greek Kantion (Strabo, 51 B.C.E.), from an ancient British Celtic name often explained as "coastal district," or "corner-land, land on the edge," but possibly "land of the hosts or armies." Related: Kentish (Old English Centisc).
"the Netherlands," early 14c., from Dutch Holland, probably Old Dutch holt lant "wood land," describing the district around Dordrecht, the nucleus of Holland. Technically, just one province of the Netherlands, but in English use extended to the whole nation. Related: Hollandish. Hollands for "Holland gin" was common late 18c.-early 19c. As a place-name in England it represents Old English hoh-land "high-land, land on a spur or hill."
peninsula south of Thrace, from Greek khersonesos "peninsula," etymologically "island connected to the mainland," from khersos "dry land, mainland" + nēsos "island," also "(flooded) land near a river, alluvial land," which is of uncertain origin; traditionally from PIE root sna- "to swim," but this is now generally rejected. "As words for 'island' differ from language to language, [nēsos] is probably an Aegean loan (note that Lat. insula is also of unclear origin)" [Beekes]. Compare isle.
Greek khersos is perhaps from PIE root *ghers- "to bristle" (see horror (n.)) if the Greek word first referred to "arid, stubbly land, and only later to land in opposition to water" [Beekes].
