And at one time we called people from Holland "Low Dutch" and people from Germany "High Dutch". And the French word Allemange comes from the Allemani, a German tribe living next to France. Robert "Sauter, Vicki L." <[email protected]> wrote: Ask and thou shalt receive: A reader recently asked why there are so many different names for Germany. As we mangled some Asian country-names last week it seemed only fair that we kick a European nation around this week. The Germans themselves call their country Deutschland, the French call it Allemagne and the Italian for German is tedesco. Let's deal with Germany first. In ancient times there were no nation states and no national borders. There were tribes, languages and ethnicities, however. So, when the Romans referred to Germania, they meant the region occupied by a tribe called the Germani. If the tribe migrated to fresh pastures then the borders of Germania shifted. During the 16th century English people started applying this name to the place where the Germani used to live. So, why did they call themselves Germani (or something like it)? Opinions vary. Some say that its root meaning is "neighbor" or "relative". That is, they were "neighbors" or "relatives" to the Celts (compare the Old Irish word gair "neighbor"). While we are on the subject of relatives, there is a word germane (often spelled germain but originally spelled german) which means "appropriate" or "relevant". It once meant "brother" or "close relative" and is related to the Spanish hermano "brother". In Middle English, a cousin-german was a "first-cousin". But to return to German, another suggestion is that it derives from the Teutonic word gari "spear", a German being therefore a "spearman". Others suggest it comes from ger-man meaning "head man". Then again, some derive it from ger-man meaning "greedy hand". One begins to suspect that they just don't have a clue. Deutschland is a little easier to understand, it is the land of the Dutch. Yes, that's right, before we started showing off our Classical educations we called all Germans Dutch. This usage survives in the term Pennsylvania Dutch, an American community of German extraction. The word itself comes from the Old High German word diutisc "vulgar" or "vernacular". That is, people who speak a common vernacular tongue rather than Latin. The land of those who spoke diutisc (Dutch, i.e. German) became known as Diutiskland (then later, Deutschland, "Germany"). The Italian word tedesco (German) is merely their version of diutisc. After the ancient Germans migrated and miscegenated themselves into obscurity, their territory was occupied by a tribe calling itself the Allemani. It is from this name that the French take their word for Germany: Allemagne. This name of the macho tribe means just what it looks like, "all men". Hey... if they were all men then that might explain why they died out. -----Original Message----- From: Robert Jerin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:39 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [CROATIA-L] Postanak imena Hrvat OK then why do we call Deutchland Germany? Robert "Sauter, Vicki L." wrote: Ah, because Germany is Deutchland! I think Croatia got corrupted because of our translation of Cravat ... as I recall that is the origin of Hrvatska-Croatia change. Vicki -----Original Message----- From: Robert Jerin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 4:44 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [CROATIA-L] Postanak imena Hrvat Well why do we call the Deutsch .... Germans! Or why to the Croatians call Germans Nijemac ? Robert "Dr. Andrew Nixon" wrote: Ok, you scholars, how did the word Hrvat become Croatian? -----Original Message----- From: Frank Kurchina [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 4:19 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [CROATIA-L] Postanak imena Hrvat http://www.stjeromecroatian.org/eng/custody3.html http://www.stjeromecroatian.org/hrv/custody3b.html PRIPOVJEST O BIBLIJI - Drugo izdanje Str:189 http://www.personal.kent.edu/~knamjesn/knjizara/i.html Interested in visting Croatia? Click on the link below to find out about a wonderful tour of Croatia! http://www.kollander-travel.com/ Interested in visting Croatia? Click on the link below to find out about a wonderful tour of Croatia! http://www.kollander-travel.com/ Interested in visting Croatia? Click on the link below to find out about a wonderful tour of Croatia! http://www.kollander-travel.com/