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85 entries found.

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.

Holland

"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."

Kent

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).

Lancelot

masc. proper name, Old French, a double-diminutive of Frankish Lanzo, itself a shortened pet-name (hypocoristic) of one of the many Germanic names in Land- (compare Old English Landbeorht "land-bright;" see Lambert).

Chersonese

peninsula south of Thrace, from Greek khersonesos "peninsula," from khersos "dry land" + 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.

Gondal

imaginary land invented by the Brontë sisters, also the name of its inhabitants.

Thailand

from Thai, indigenous name of the inhabitants, + land (n.). Also see Siam.

Laos

Southeast Asian land, from the name of legendary founder Lao. Related: Laotian (1861).

Roland

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."

Haiti

from Arawak haiti "land of mountains," and probably originally the name of the whole island. Related: Haitian.

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