America
Pronunciation
Forms
Amerī̆ca f (genitive Amerī̆cae); first declension[1]
Etymology
It is the feminine of Americus, the Latinized first name of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512),[1][2] from Italian Amerigo.[1] Wiktionary adds that the Italian name goes back to a Germanic personal name.[1] Etymonline points out that his first name was easier to Latinize than his surname, Latin ⟨Vesputius⟩.[2] The feminine form matched the names of the other continents, Asia, Africa and Europa.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
The name first appears in 1507 in the Cosmographiae Introductio, which Etymonline calls the work of the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller and which Wiktionary says was apparently written by Matthias Ringmann; there it referred to South America.[2][1] The same text has a related form meaning “land of Amerigo”, built on the Greek word for earth.[1]
Semantic evolution
In 1538 Mercator applied it to both North and South America.[1] In New Latin it names the Americas as a whole.[1] English America was taken from it, and the name spread from European languages to many others.[1][2]
Timeline
- 1507 – The Cosmographiae Introductio names South America after Amerigo Vespucci.[2][1]
- 1538 – Mercator uses it for both North and South America.[1]
Meanings
Proper noun
Related words
- English America
Usage notes
Wiktionary marks the second ⟨i⟩ as either long or short.[1]