Originally posted by �ok ge� Austria= Namsa (it is said that first inhabitants carried a similar name in latin, others say it came from Turkish meaning the sleeping city when Sulyman the magnificent seiged vienna and bombarded the walls with no responses)

I think Namsa may be derived from the slavic Nemsi, a word which the Slavs used to designate germanic peoples. Supposedly, Nemsi means 'mute' - afterall, germans and slavs spoke different languages.

Edited by Degredado

Afghanistan: Literarly it means 'The Land of the Afghans', but historically, and according to Sanskrit writtings, it means 'The Land of Horse Riders'. Because Afghans were the finest horse riders, therefore they were called Asvakan or Horse Riders.

Another named of Afghanistan is 'PashtunKhwa', the older version of it mentioned by Herodotus is Packtya, which means 'The Land of the Pashtuns [Race]' or the Afghans.

Azerbaijan=comes from greek ''Atropatan'', wich means ---->The land of fire

Actually, here is the correct etymology:

East Azarbaijan is one of the more archaic territories in Iran. It contains Anshan, the original capital of the Elamites, and the nucleus of Persian Empire. During the reign of Alexander of Macedon in Iran (331 BCE), a warrior known as Attorpat led a revolt in this area, then a territory of the Medes, and thereafter it was called Attorpatkan. Since then this vicinity has been known as Azarabadegan, Azarbadgan and Azarbayjan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Azarbaijan

More info:

Arran (Azerbaijan) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aran or Arran, a historical geographical name in Azerbaijan. The term has undergone major alterations in meaning throughout history, and is used to refer to both the Azerbaijan Republic and the historical Karabakh area, consisting of Nagorno-Karabakh and lowland plains adjacent to it. The Mossavatis decided on 27 May 1918 to use the name of this Iranian province for naming their newly established government in the Caucasus. The Turkish and Soviets troops which entered the area in the consequent years persisted in using the name Azerbaijan for those regions.[1] Currently, the term is used in the Azerbaijan Republic to signify the territory consisting of the lowland Karabakh plains situated between Kura and Araks rivers, including the Mil plain and parts of the Mughan plain. In Iran and by some scholars abroad, the term Arran is sometimes used to designate today's Azerbaijan Republic. First mention of Arran as a geographical name can be found in Arab sources of the 8th century. Following the Arab invasion of present-day Azerbaijan in the 8th century, most of the former territory of Caucasian Albania was renamed, and included in their Khalifate under the name Arran (ar-Ran). However, it should be noted that according to some scholars, the name is considerably more ancient, noting that the Parthian name for Albania was Ardan, and that still older Iranian sources even refer to it as "Aran". The nearby Araks (Aras) river was known to Ancient Greek geographers as Araxes, and has a source not far from Mt. Ararat. Moreover, this region, long considered the earliest seat of the Zoroastrian faith, is likely the one referred to in the Zend Avesta as the "First land" (Airyana Vaego). Thus, 'Arran' is quite possibly the "missing link" between the names Ararat and Aryan (and indeed, Iran). The son of Japheth who first settled the Aras valley may have been Madai, if anecdotal tales related in the Book of Jubilees have any value. According to some, the name Arran may derive from the legendary founder of Caucasian Albania, who according to legend was son of Noah's son Yafet (Japheth) and also, possibly the eponym of the ancient Caucasian Albanians. Also in Avar language ("Abaris" one of the 26 tribes of Caucasian Albania) the word "Q'Arran" means Plato or Flat-Open Land Historically, the names Arran and Azerbaijan (Ancient Atropatene) were used interchangeably to refer to territory of today's Azerbaijan Republic. However, Azerbaijan was used to signify the Iranian Azerbaijan. At the same time, term Arran was often used in a narrower sense, implying not the whole territory of today's Azerbaijan Republic, but only the right bank of the Kura river, centered around the Karabakh area. In this interpretation, eastern Caucasus was generally divided into three historical areas: Arran, Shirvan and Talish-i Gushtasbi. In a medieval chronicle �Ajayib-ad-Dunia�, written in 13th century by an unknown author, Arran is said to have approximately 30 farsakhs (200 km) width, and 40 farsakhs (270 km) length. All the right bank of the Kura until it joined with the Araks was attributed to Arran (the left bank of the Kura was known as Shirvan). The medieval Islamic geographers gave descriptions of Arran in general, and of its towns (Barda, Beylagan, Ganja etc.) in particular, describing their agricultural fertility and their importance for commerce across the Caucasus. Today, the term Arran is mainly used in the Azerbaijan Republic to indicate territories consisting of Mil and Mughan plains (mostly, Beylaqan, Imishli, Saatli, Sabirabad provinces of the Azerbaijan Republic). [edit] External links Arran Province by C.E.Bosworth, Iranian Chamber of Commerce. Useful information on history of Arran province, Caucasus Albania and Azerbaijan ARR�N Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arran_%28Azerbaijan%29" Categories: Azerbaijan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arran_(Azerbaijan)

oops, my mistake

Originally posted by Degredado Originally posted by �ok ge� Austria= Namsa (it is said that first inhabitants carried a similar name in latin, others say it came from Turkish meaning the sleeping city when Sulyman the magnificent seiged vienna and bombarded the walls with no responses) I think Namsa may be derived from the slavic Nemsi, a word which the Slavs used to designate germanic peoples. Supposedly, Nemsi means 'mute' - afterall, germans and slavs spoke different languages.

You are right, I just found that too.

Note: The Romanian language used to use in the past the Slavonic term "nemţeşte", but "germană" is now widely used. Hungarian "n�met" is also a Slavonic loan-word. The Arabic name for Austria, النمسا ("an-namsa"), is derived from the Slavonic term.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language

Australia - from the Latin terra australia: Southern Land. So it means southen land basically, sorry to those of you who thought it might have some fascinating and mystifying meaning We have a range of other names for some of our states including such highly original ones as: South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory. My my, aren't we an imaginative bunch.

Originally posted by Warhero What does Ukrainie mean in Russian ? (border country?)

Yeah, I think it does mean border country.

Anatolia (Greek: Aνατολή Αnatolē or Ανατολία Anatol�a) is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion of Turkey, also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor. It means "rising of the sun" or "East", is . In Turkish it is called Anadolu, a derivation of its original Greek version.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolia

When i was in Turkey in 2003 a guide told me the root of the name Anatolia came from the word "An�" which means "Mother" in Turkish... and something like "The land of Mothers"...

I don't know if this has ANY truth in it but let me just say that the guide was LOCAL.

Morocco: Al-Maghrib in arabic : Land of the setting Sun or The Sunset Land.

Spain: Espa�a: Hispania in Latin: Land of rabbits (i think - or something like that).

Cheers.

Originally posted by Vajk POLAND = POLSKA is from the name POLANIE, one of the tribes of western Slavs, as Polish Ucrainian Canadian mentioned above. The etymology of the name Polanie goes from POLE = 'a field'. So, Polska means not only 'land of Polanie', but first of all 'the land of fields'.

It does mean "the Land of the fields" or I prefer, "Land of the field dwellers".
But I think Lechistan/Lachistan would be more appropriate. Land of the Lachs or Land of Lech. I find it more appropriate due ot the fact that the Polanie were only one tribeof Poland whereas the Leckhitic lingual group includes all the tribes of Poland including also Polabians (supposedly an extinct group)