A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock song called ‘Coffee is a drink, Kaapi is a feeling’. @bertyashley
Quiz | Easy as Sunday morning: how countries got their names
This Caribbean island was originally called Waddadli, but Christopher Columbus decided to name it after the ancient St. Mary’s Church.
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1 / 10 | On February 22, 1979, the island nation of Saint Lucia gained independence from the United Kingdom after 316 years of British rule. The country is named after St. Lucy of Syracuse. She was a Christian martyr who was killed in 304 AD. What unique record does this country hold in terms of etymology?
2 /10 | This Caribbean island was originally called Waddadli, but Christopher Columbus decided to name it after the ancient St. Mary’s Church. The neighboring island, originally known as Waumoni, was given a name meaning ‘bearded’, a reference to the fig trees everywhere. Now how do we know this country?
3 / 10 | This country is named after the oldest desert in the world. Professor Mburumba Kerina, originally known as South-West Africa, gave this name to the country. Its origin is ‘nam’, which means ‘the area where there is nothing’. which country is that?
4 /10 | The country is named after the family that rules it. The family name comes from the Arabic word ‘Saad’, meaning ‘happy’ or ‘prosperous’. Which country aims to become a global investment superpower by 2030?
5 /10 | This Pacific island nation was named after Captain Thomas Gilbert, who visited in 1788. Until its independence in 1979, it was known as the Gilbert Islands. If their Christmas Island was renamed ‘Kirisimasi’, what was the name of the country?
6 /10 | It is believed that this South American country is named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. When he saw the stilt houses at Lake Maracaibo, he thought the place looked like ‘Little Venice’, which is said to have given it its name. which country is that?
7 /10 | This vast expanse of islands in the Pacific has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years. In 1568, Spanish explorer Alvaro de Neira ‘discovered’ these islands. He apparently saw pieces of gold in the river and immediately thought that this was the place where the Biblical king had obtained all his wealth. Which country got its name from this illogical logic?
8/10 | When Spanish explorers landed in this area of ​​South America they called it the ‘Silver River’. This was in reference to the ornate jewelery worn by the local people. This place later became ‘Silvery Land’ in Italian. When eventually only the Latin word for silver remained, what name did the country get?
9 /10 | This Central African country gets its name from the Wauri River that flows through it. Portuguese explorers called it ‘Rios dos Camarais’ (River of Prawns) because of its abundance of seafood. By what name did the country eventually become known?
10 / 10 | In 150 AD, Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy made a map of a large landmass in the southern hemisphere. He named it in Latin, “Unknown Southern Land”. The Dutch called it ‘New Holland’ and the British called it ‘New South Wales’. What is the Latin word for ‘southern’, which became the name of the country?
