Chapter 1
Literal translations that surprise us
Chapter 2
Legacies of legendary leaders
Chapter 3
Shaped by the natural world
Chapter 4
Echoes of ancient peoples
YOUR GOAL
Master of Secrets of country names
Ch 3 · Shaped by the natural world
schopenhauer Shaped by the Natural World
From Brazil's glowing trees to the shrimp in the bay, The wild natural world names our nations today!
schopenhauer Kenya is named after Mount Kenya, whose snow-capped peaks inspired its Indigenous Kikuyu name.
schopenhauer The name India is derived from the Indus River, which itself comes from an ancient Sanskrit word for river or ocean.
BETA
schopenhauer Match ancient word roots to modern maps to discover how countries got their names.
Fun Fact
Glowing embers: Brazil is named after a tree whose wood produces a fiery red dye. The Portuguese word for glowing coal is 'brasa.'
Glossary
toponym (noun)
A place name, especially one derived from a topographical feature. Cameroon's name derives from a Portuguese toponym meaning 'river of prawns,' coined by Fernando Poo in 1472.
A place name, especially one derived from a topographical feature. Cameroon's name derives from a Portuguese toponym meaning 'river of prawns,' coined by Fernando Poo in 1472.
Quiz
Which specific mountain's dark pine forests inspired the name 'Crna Gora' (Montenegro)?
Quiz
What does the Kikuyu name 'Kirinyaga,' which became the name Kenya, translate to?
Quiz
Which European language gave the Balkan nation of Montenegro its international name meaning 'Black Mountain'?
Quiz
The name India is derived from 'Sindhu,' which is the ancient Sanskrit name for which physical feature?
Quiz
What specific mountain inspired the name of the modern East African nation of Kenya?
Quiz
What was the original Portuguese name for Brazil before it was renamed after the brazilwood tree?
Quiz
Which ancient civilization first used the term 'India' to describe the land beyond the Indus River?