Etymology
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Georgia

the U.S. state was named 1732 as a colony for King George II of Great Britain. The Caucasian nation is so-called for St. George, who is its patron saint (his cult there may continue that of a pre-Christian deity with whom he later was identified), but the name in that place also is said to derive from Arabic or Persian Kurj, or Gurz (the form in the earliest sources, Russian Grusia), which is said to be a name of the native people, of unknown origin. In modern Georgia, the name of the country is Sakartvelo and the people's name is Kartveli. Georgia pine, long-leafed pine of the Southern U.S. states, is from 1796.

Entries linking to Georgia

George 

masc. personal name, from French Georges, Late Latin Georgius, from Greek Georgos "husbandman, farmer," properly an adjective, "tilling the ground," from gē "earth" (see Gaia) + -ergos "that works," from ergon "work" (from PIE root *werg- "to do").

The name introduced in England by the Crusaders (a vision of St. George played a key role in the First Crusade), but not common until after the Hanoverian succession (18c.). St. George began to be recognized as patron of England in time of Edward III, perhaps because of his association with the Order of the Garter (see garter). His feast day is April 23. The legend of his combat with the dragon is first found in "Legenda Aurea" (13c.). The exclamation by (St.) George! is recorded from 1590s.

The cult of George reached its apogee in the later Middle Ages: by then not only England, but Venice, Genoa, Portugal, and Catalonia regarded him as their patron: for all he was the personification of the ideals of Christian chivalry. ["The Oxford Dictionary of Saints"]

updated on October 10, 2017

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