起源于1507年的英语词汇列表
-
America
1507年,“西半球,北美和南美”,在制图师马丁·瓦尔德塞穆勒的论文 "Cosmographiae Introductio," 中,源自现代拉丁语 Americanus,传统上是以 Amerigo ·韦斯普奇(1454-1512)的名字命名的,他作为航海家两次前往新世界,并声称是他发现的。他的出版作品提出了这是一个新大陆的观点,并且他是第一个称之为 Novus Mundus "新世界"的人。Amerigo 比 Vespucci 更容易拉丁化(拉丁语 Vesputius,可能会产生地名 Vesputia)。在英语中,这个词的含义自然地被限制在英国殖民地,然后是美国。
It is a thousand pities that the puny witticisms of a few professional objectors should have the power to prevent, even for a year, the adoption of a name for our country. At present we have, clearly, none. There should be no hesitation about "Appalachia." In the first place, it is distinctive. "America" is not, and can never be made so. We may legislate as much as we please, and assume for our country whatever name we think right — but to use it will be no name, to any purpose for which a name is needed, unless we can take it away from the regions which employ it at present. South America is "America," and will insist upon remaining so. [Edgar Allan Poe, "Marginalia," in Graham's Magazine, Philadelphia, December 1846]
真是遗憾,一些专业反对者的小聪明竟然有能力阻止我们为我们的国家命名,哪怕只是一年。目前我们显然没有名字。对于"Appalachia"应该毫不犹豫。首先,它是独特的。"美洲"不是,也永远无法做到。我们 We 可以尽情立法,为我们的国家选择我们认为合适的名字——但是使用它将不会是任何需要名字的目的的名字,除非我们可以从目前使用它的地区中拿走它。南美就是"美洲",并且将坚决保持这样。[埃德加·艾伦·坡,《边注》,在《格雷厄姆杂志》,费城,1846年12月]
FREDONIA, FREDONIAN, FREDE, FREDISH, &c. &c. These extraordinary words, which have been deservedly ridiculed here as well as in England, were proposed sometime ago, and countenanced by two or three individuals, as names for the territory and people of the United States. The general term American is now commonly understood (at least in all places where the English language is spoken,) to mean an inhabitant of the United States; and is so employed, except where unusual precision of language is required. [John Pickering, "A Vocabulary, or Collection of Words and Phrases Which Have Been Supposed to be Peculiar to the United States of America," Boston, 1816]
FREDONIA,FREDONIAN,FREDE,FREDISH,等等。这些非凡的词语,在这里和英格兰都受到了应有的嘲笑,它们曾经被提议,并且得到了两三个人的支持,作为 United States 的领土和人民的名字。一般的术语 American 现在通常被理解(至少在所有说英语的地方)为指 United States 的居民; 并且就这样使用,除非需要语言的非常精确。[约翰·皮克林,《词汇,或者被认为是美国特有的词语和短语的收集》,波士顿,1816年]
这个男子的名字 Amerigo 是日耳曼语,据说源自哥特语 Amalrich,字面意思是“工作统治者”。这个名字的古英语形式已经演变为姓氏 Emmerich, Emery 等。意大利语的女性形式融入了 Amelia。
口语发音"Ameri-kay",在19世纪并不少见,至少可以追溯到1643年和一个把这个词和 away 押韵的诗。Amerika "被视为种族主义,法西斯主义,压迫等的美国社会"可以追溯到1969年; 拼写是德语,但它也可能暗示了 KKK。