Eswatini Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest Eswatini or Swaziland cities.

Nhlangano is a name meaning 'meeting place'.

Piggs Peak is named after William Pigg, who discovered a gold reef here in March 1884.

Bulembu is named from the siSwati word for 'spider's web'. I don't care why, it's a fabulous idea.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Liechtenstein Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at Liechtenstein's place names. Here instead of cities we will look at the municipalities.

Liechtenstein gets its name from the family from Liechtenstein Castle in Austria, itself named because of its 'bright stone', which is exactly what the name means.

Ruggell is thought to be from the Latin for 'clearing the land', something which would have happened before settlement began.

Planken comes from the Latin and describes the region of 'rising meadows'.

Eschen is simply 'the place of the ash trees'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Democratic Republic of Congo Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time the Democratic Republic of Congo and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Kinshasha took its present name from a small village named Kinchassa once found near the site of a city with a present-day population of over eight million, the original name thought to have come from 'the salt market'. The name changed in 1966 when Joseph-Desire Mobutu began 'Africanizing' names from colonial rule. Previously it had been known as Leopoldville in honour of King Leopold II of Belgium, although the settlement began as a trading post founded by Henry Morton Stanley, a name most often associated with finding the missionary and explorer Dr David Livingstone.

Lubumbashi is another with a comparatively recent name change, it formerly known as Elisabethville and named after Queen Elisabeth, consort of the Belgian King Albert I. Its modern name comes from the nearby Lubumbashi river, a name never understood and hardly surprising when considering the indigenous tribes of the Democratic Republic of Congo may officially be said to speak the Bantu languages, although this is a language group with at least 75 distinct languages and a minimum of 250 distinct dialects and sub-groups.

Mbuji-Mayi is the modern name and means 'goat water' and indeed there are a large number of goats in an area well watered by the Sankuru river. Formerly the place was known as Bakwanga, the name of the clan living in the area when first developed as a mining community, nothing further is known on this name.

Bukavu is a part of the ancient Bushi kingdom, the latter speaking of 'the nobility of Shi', while the modern name replaced the French name of Costermansville and comes from the Bashi bu nkafu or 'the farm of cows'.

Kananga had been known as Luluaburg as it lies on the Lulua river. The modern name is from the Tshiluba word kanangayi or 'a place for peace or love' and continues to be a meeting place for chieftains to settle disputes and agree treaties.

Kisangani had been known as Stanleyville, again a reminder of Henry Morton Stanley, with the modern version a Swahili transaltion of the local boyoma or 'city on the island'.

Matadi is from the local Kikongo language and means 'stone'. This refers to the steep inclines everyone needs to negotiate when travelling to or from Matadi, leading to a delightful local saying which maintains anyone living in Matadi has to be fully conversant with the verbs meaning 'to go up', 'to come down' and 'to sweat'.

Mbandaka was known as Equateurville when founded by Henry Morton Stanley in 1883, as it was thought to lie on the equator. The present name comes from a prominent local leader.

Baraka comes from a Swahili word and means 'lucky'. This seems an unusual idea for a place with no paved roads, no running water, no electricity, and was the centre for the cross-border Maoist insurgency for more than two decades.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Brunei and its Place Names

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Brunei and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Bandar Seri Bagawan was known in English as Bandar Brunei or Brunei Town. At the abdication of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III in 1967, his eldest son Hassanal Bolkiah succeeded him and later renamed the city Begawan to honour his father as it was used to mean 'abdicated' when referring to former monarchs, it coming from the Sanskrit word for 'god'. It should also be noted that Seri Begawan means 'blessed one', the Sanskrit seri easily seen as related to the honorific sri. The word bandar has come down from the Persian tongue and originally meant 'harbour, port, haven', and is also found in Malay where it means 'town, city'.

Sengkurong is traditionally said to be 'the people of Kurong'. This is supported by the Bengkurong meaning 'the Kurong River'. Both seem to suggest this area was once known as Kurong, although there are no surviving records to support this. However it would make sense as kurong also means 'enclosed' and the meandering river could easily be said to have enclosed an area, particularly during times of flood.

Sungai Nagalang is a river named from the Murut galang or 'circular bracelet' and a description of its meandering course.

Sungair Peliunan is a second river, again describing its course in lium or 'to circle around'.

Sungai Batu Apoi is a third river name, this time named for a local feature and meaning 'fiery rock'. Unlike the previous two the rock is no longer visible, for traditional tells of how this rock, it making the whole area quite uninhabitable, was encountered by a great hero. He took one look at the offending rock and, with his great strength, launched it into the sea thus making the area perfect for the village.

Tutong has many explanations, most often said to be the word for 'turtle'.

Bukit Ambok is a hill near the town of Tutong. While the true origin is uncertain, there are two conflicting suggestions as to its origin. Either this represents ambok from Malay and thus understood as 'monkey hill', or is from a fruit known as 'cat's eyes' growing on the ambug trees which once dominated this hill.

Lamunin refers to fauna not flora. This is from lat munin or 'fox hill'.

Merimbun has two conflicting but equally interesting explanations. It is said a man named Imbun had been hunting when he stumbled upon the place. Finding the forest alive with game and the lake teeming with fish he decided to bring his family here to settle permanently. When others of his village followed, they named it to honour the man who had made their lives so much easier. The second also suggests Merimbun had been named after an individual, this time the story involves a trader from China who brought so much prosperity they named it after him, his name being Eng Boon.

Bukit Udal also speaks of an early event giving it a name. Folklore speaks of a great flood, the rising waters forcing men, women and children to seek higher ground. Naturally the animals, birds and insects did the same to wait it out. However so many mouths crowded in a small area soon meant there was nothing left to eat, all the vegetation had been stripped and giving it its name of 'bald hill'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Brazil Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Brazil and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Brasilia has a population of just over two million, making it the fourth largest in the country. It was a planned city dating from the 1950s and clearly named from the country, the latter from the tree brazilwood which once proliferated along the Atlantic coast. This is from the Latin brasa il meaning 'red like an ember', a reference to the deep red dye obtained from these trees.

Rio de Janeiro is the best known place in the country but is neither the capital and is only the second-largest city. Originally known as Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro to honour St Sebastian, the patron of the then Portuguese monarch, with the addition from the river on which it stands, both can be defined as 'January river'.

Sao Paulo is by far the largest city in the country, unsurprisingly the Portuguese for 'Saint Paul',

Salvador is an abbreviation of the original name Sao Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos or 'Holy Saviour of the Bay of All Saints'.

Fortazela is the Portuguese word for 'fortress', not the original name but coined when settlement began in 1603 and the fort constructed under the orders of Pero Coelho de Souza. That fort was named Fort of Sao Tiago and the settlement initially known as Nova Lisboa 'New Lisbon'.

Belo Horizonte is another Portuguese name, delightfully referring to the 'beautiful horizon'. This name was coined in 1906, there having been several names since the initial period of settlement in 1701, and named during a period of extensive industrialisation.

Manaus is after the people indigenous to this region, the Manaos. When first elevated to city status in 1832, it became known as Cidade de Barra do Rio Negro or 'the city of the margins of the black river' but reverted to its present name in 1848.

Curitiba is said to come from the Tupi kuri tyba or 'many pine seeds', this attributed to the numerous pine cones found in the area when Europeans first landed, these from the Parana pines native to the region. Alternatively the same Tupi tongue may be interpreted as kurit yba or 'a lot of pine trees'.

Recife is first recorded as a small port - a collection of shacks, inns and warehousing - and described as arrecife dos navios 'the reef of ships'. Today the recife or 'reef' running parallel to the shore forms a natural harbour. However this is not the coral reef often said to be here, this reef is a beach from pre-history which has now solidified into stone.

Porto Alegre is simply Portuguese for 'the joyful harbour'.

Belem is the Portuguese word for 'Bethlehem'.

Goiania is a planned city and named in 1933 following a contest held by the local newspaper. Suggestions included Petronia, Americana, Petrolandia, Goianopolis, Bartolomeu Bueno, Campanha, Eldorado, Anhanguera, Liberdade, Patria Nova, Goianopolis as well as Goiania. This is based on the state and city name of Goias, itself from the indigenous people whose name seems to come from gua e ia, literally 'the same person' but understood as 'people of the same origin'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Botswana Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Botswana and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Gaborone quite literally speaks of ‘it does not fit badly’, although some interpret it as ‘it is not unbecoming’, both of which sound very much back-handed compliments to me. This is from Chief Gaborone of the BaTlokwa, this village now called Tlokweng.

Francistown is clearly named after someone named ‘Francis’. That someone being Daniel Francis, a prospector from Liverpool in England who obtained mining licenses for this area and ostensibly founded Botwana’s second largest settlement in 1869.

Molepolole claims to be one of the largest traditional villages on the African continent, with a population nearing 70,000. It is named after the Molepolole river, the meaning of which is uncertain but probably simplistic and referring to the wetland.

Maun is a similar name and one where the origins are known. This is from maung, a Seyei word meaning ‘place of the river reeds’.

Lensweletau is a name referring to this as ‘the lion at the rocky hill’.

Molpowabojang is not only a place name but the river name, hence this is why the name means ‘river grass’

Seleka is the Sango word for ‘coalition’, a political alliance formed as recently as 2012.

Tsetsebjwe comes from the hill of the same name. Formerly known as Mokgojwe, from the local spring, it changed to its present name when a man called Tsetsebjwe died here when poachers from neighbouring South Africa were after game in the 19th century.

Hukuntsi means ‘many corners’ in the local tongue.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Bosnia and Herzegovina and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names.

Sarajevo is the capital and by far the largest city. Its name comes from Turkish saray and a later Turkish loanword evo and together refer to 'the plains around the palace'. Thus we can infer the original place, and thus the name, referred solely to the palace, with the present form coming some centuries later.

Banja Luka is quite recent, at least as far as place names go, being first seen in a document dating from 1494. Traditionally this is defined as from ban luka or 'meadow of the dignitary' and yet without any indication of the location of the meadow or, more importantly, any hint as to the identity of the dignitary. The popularity of this definition has tended to overshadow more likely origins, including banja 'bath or spa' with luka 'port'; bajna luka 'the marvellous port'; or from Hungarian Lukacsbanya 'Luke's mine'. Note the locals spelling is as two words while generally the form is to give this as Banjaluci.

Tuzla is certainly linked to a mine, this for this is the Ottoman Turkish word specifically referring to a 'salt mine' and the extensive and valuable salt deposits found beneath the city.

Mostar is named after the mostari, the 'bridge keepers' who guarded the medieval bridge over the Neretva. Built by the Ottomans in the 16th century, it is arguably the nation's most recognizable landmarks.

Prnjavor is said to be of medieval origins when the monasteries here had landed properties known as Prnjavori. This subsequently gave the locals the name of Prnjavorci and the modern town became Prnjavor.

Tomislavgrad is quite literally 'Tomislav town' and known as such since 1928 when King Alexander I of Yugoslavia suggested this a fitting tribute to his son Prince Tomislav and King Tomislav of Croatia. Previously this had been Duvno, this making a comeback from the end of the Second World War until the 1990s and is still known as such by some locals. This original name, also seen as Duvnjaci, is a reference to the Duvniak people who once inhabited this region.

Siroki Brijeg is named after a topgraphical feature and means 'the wide hill', although locals tend to abbreviate it to simply Siroki 'the wide'. Briefly, from 1945 to 1990, this had been renamed after another local feature, the Listica river.

Modrica is thought to be named as it could be found near 'the small river with blue mountain water', this thought to be the Dusa.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Bolivia Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Benin and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

La Paz is, as any trivia buff will know, the world's highest capital city. Founded in 1548 by the Spanish Conquistadors as Nuestra Senora de La Paz, this meaning 'Our Lady of Peace', and built on the site of the earlier site of Laja.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra is by far the largest in terms of population. Another founded by the Spanish Conquistadors and named Santa Cruz de la Sierra or 'Holy Cross of the Hills' by Nuflo de Chaves in 1558.

Cochabamba, sometimes given as Quchapampa, gets its name from qucha 'lake' and pampa 'open plain'.

Oruro is named after the local tribe, the Uru-Uru.

Sucre was named to honour the victorious Don Antionio Jose de Sucre at the Battle of Ayacucho on 9 December 1824.

Tarija is traditionally held to be derived from one Francisco de Tarija, however it has been shown this name existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish and the name's origins remain a mystery.

Potosi is likewise uncertain and also has a traditional tale associated with its origins. The story tells of the year of 1462, when Huayna Capa, ruler of the Inca Empire, came to Potosi to view for himself the place where "Innumerable arrobas of silver had been taken" - arroba being a Spanish unit of weight approximating to some 25 pounds. He told his subjects how he had seen the hill was truly filled with veins of the precious metal and commanded them to remove every last piece. Yet just as they were about to remove the first of the ore the hill shook and a thunderous voice bellowed "Do not take the silver from this hill, it is destined for other masters." The workers returned to their king and told them of the 'noise' which, in their language, spoke of potocsi, later corrupted to potosi.

Trinidad should correctly be La Santisima Trinidad or 'the Most Holy Trinity'.

Yacuiba comes from the Guarani yaku-iba loosely translating as 'the watering hole of fowls'.

Colcapirhua comes from the Quechua words qolque 'money' and pirwua 'sky where corn is stored'.

Llallagua is the hispanicized version of Llallawa, an Aymara word meaning 'monstrous potato' and a reference to the double hill overshadowing the town.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Bhutan Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Benin and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Thimphu is the largest city, although only having a population of 68,000, and the origins of its name are unclear. It is not recorded until the latter half of the 14th century. There is a traditional explanation, one coming from a written account of the travels of Jamyang Kuenga Senge (1314-47) and his meeting with Jagpa Melan, a deity local to the area now known as Thimphu. It is said Jagpa Melan dissolved before the man's eyes, becoming a part of the rock on which he stood. Thus the name of Thimphu means 'dissolving high ground' where thim 'dissolve' precedes phu 'high ground'.

Punakha was the capital city of Bhutan until 1955, when replaced by Thimphu, although it is still the official winter capital owing to its milder climate. This is how Punakha Dzong is usually referred to, although even that is an abbreviation of Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong meaning 'the palace of great happiness or bliss'. Said palace was built in the middle of the 17th century and still stands among on the banks of the river.

Trashigang, also given as Tashigang, derives its name from the Tshangia inhabitants of this eastern region of Bhutan and, in their Dzongkha language, means 'easterner'.

Wangdue Phodrang shares its name woth the district. Again the only explanation is a traditional one, said to have been given by Ngawang Namgyal who, when searching for a good site for a new dzong, discovered a boy playing near the river. The boy was known as Wangdi and he therefore named the site 'Wangdi's palace'.

Trongsa was founded with the building of the first temple in 1543 and named as 'the new village'.

Damphu as with Thimphu the suffix here is phu 'high ground' and this by a confluence of two rivers with dam meaning 'joining'.

Gasa is known locally as Tashi Thongmon, also the name of the dzong, and this the name of the local deity.

Jakar quite literally means 'white bird', a reminder of the tradition of the monastery being founded on the site where a white bird signalled to show where it should be built.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Benin Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Benin and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Cotonou is named from the local Fon language where the name originally meant 'river of death', this being the Oueme River.

Porto-Novo is a name of Portuguese origin and describes 'the new port', although it has not been 'new' since renamed by them in the 16th century.

Parakou is a Dendi word meaning La ville de tout le monde, a reminder this had been French territory, indeed once known as French Dahomey, and refers to 'the city of everyone'. Incidentally the name of Dahomey is discussed under my earlier blog The Etymology of the Names of African Nations.

Bohicon is a modern form of the correct name of Gboxicon, literally meaning 'market sheep' and accurately describing the major commodity fuelling the economy of the city.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Belize Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Belize and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the the nation's namesake.

Belize City is the capital city of the district known as Belize although no longer the capital of the nation of Belize - it stands on a tributary of the Belize River. The nation was formerly known as British Honduras, when Belize was still the capital city. The name was first recorded in 1677, in the journal of a Domincan priest named Fray Jose Delgado, when speaking of the Rio Soyte (now known as the Sittee River), Rio Xibum (now Sibun River), and the Rio Balis which is presumed to be the Belize River and coming from the Mayan word belix meaning 'muddy waters'. Other suggestions of a Spanish pronunciation of the name of Peter Wallace, a Scot who did have a small settlement named after him but not when, or even if, he was ever here, are likely muthical. With French and African derivations similarly creative from an etymological perspective.

Belmopan has been the capital city since 1973, three years after central government had relocated here. It is the smallest capital city, in terms of population, in all of the Americas and is only the third largest settlement in the country. However the place is little more than 50 years old, building beginning as recently as 1960 when the city of Belize was well-nigh destroyed by a hurricane. Such a recent origin means the origins of the name are well known, this is a union of two rivers - the Belize and the Mopan, their confluence found nearby.

San Ignacio is the second largest settlement in Belize by population, yet still only ranks as a town. It was originally named El Cayo by the Spanich, cayo meaning 'island' and an apt description of a place surrounded by water. The modern name is the Spanish version of Saint Ignatius.

Orange Walk Town is the capital of Orange Walk District, both originating in the fruit. However the town's nickname of Sugar City is more accurate, this being the hub of sugar production in Belize where sugar is its leading industry. Under Mayan rule the place was known as Holpatin, the meaning of which is unknown.

Dangriga was once the second largest city in the country and has enjoyed a revival in recent decades, principally through the return to Garifuna culture. These Carib people had first settled the region before the British arrived in 1832, naming the place from the Garifuna word meaning 'standing waters'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Belarus Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Belarus and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital city of Minsk.

Minsk is first recorded in an 11th century text written in Old East Slavic as Mensk. Later we find Miensk and Minsk, all of which are derived from the river name of Men. Despite a number of theories, the origin of the river name remains unknown.

Dzyarzhynsk had formerly been called Koidanova, Kojdanau, and Koidanov, until renamed in June 1932 in honour of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a famous Bolshevik and chief of the Soviet secret police, he being born near the city.

Zaslawye was founded in AD 985 by Valdimir the Great. He left his wife Rogneda and son Izyaslav of Polotsk here while on his travels, his son giving the place its name.

Krupki is one of those names where the grammar is not clear. Hence the origin is known although the meaning could either be interpreted as '(where) grain is ground' or more likely 'the grain mill'.

Vitebsk has developed around the harbour on the Vitba River. Clearly the river has given the city its name although the origin of the river name is unknown.

Orsha is another city in Belarus once named after its river. However here we not only know the city's earlier name of Rsha but also know the Rsha River is derived from a Baltic root word rus meaning 'flowing slowly'. The modern form simply a variation on the original.

Navapolatsk is close to the city of Polatsk and means 'new Polatsk'. The town was established as recently as 1958, by those from the following city.

Polotsk is another which takes its name from the local river. The Polota River is an Old East Slavic name, meaning 'falling into' this describes its confluence with the Dvina River.

Lepel's origins are confused for it is unclear as to even which language the name comes from. Perhaps this is lepene and thus 'the lake between the groves of lime trees'; or maybe this is from the Belarusian for 'where advanced pottery is made' or even the boast that it is 'the best place to live'. Three very different meanings from three well-nigh identical words showing how difficult defining a place name can be.

Dubrovna is an ancient name, one coming from the Proto-Slavic term for a 'forest of oak trees' - this is recognised by the inclusion of the leaves and fruit of this tree in the coat of arms.

Dokshytsy is first recorded in the early fifteenth century and is named for the many tributaries or doxyczahe in this area.

Grodno derives its name from the Old East Slavic gorodit meaning 'to fence in' or 'to enclose'.

Ashmyany once stood on land held by Lithuania, with its name coming from the river. Hence the Oshmianka River gave the town its name, although then it was the Asmena River from akumo meaning 'stone'. Note the modern version is the plural.

Navahrudak was founded around the 11th century, the name possibly having the same origins as Novogorodok or 'the new little town' as it is listed in the middle of the 13th century.

Slonim is mentioned as such in 1252, with alternative versions as Uslonim and Vslonim. It is thought to come from the Slavic zaslona meaning 'a screen', this pointing to it being a southern outpost of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Occasionally there are suggestions of this coming from slon, although nobody really thinks the place names comes from the Polish word for 'elephant'.

Lida is another place name taken from its local river. Here the Lidzeya literally means 'to fuse' or 'to cast' but in this context is a pointer to a forest clearing.

Babruysk shares an origin with the Babruyka River in likely coming from Belarusian babyor meaning 'beaver'. Pollution and hunting has meant neither the city nor the river have seen a beaver in its natural habitat for more than 150 years.

Vawkavysk is traditionally held to originate from the local dialect where wolkow isk means 'searching for wolves' or wolkow wisk meaning 'the howling of wolves' with the river named before the town. This traditional relies on the name being an ancient one and given to the territory before the river or the settlement. Hence toponymists give a much later origin, one based on a single manuscript dating from somewhere around 1600. It tells of this being an area of great forest through which weaved the Nietupa River, giving travellers the problem of having to weave along narrow paths to either cross or avoid it. The forest also contained a cabin, this the home of Voloko and Visek, two robbers preying on every traveller passing through the forest. When one Prince Vladislav Zabeyko heard of these attacks he set out to find and kill these men. While the bodies of the men hung from a nearby tree to be fed on by the local birds, the first buildings of the new settlement were built on the site of the robbers' cabin. When all trace of the two bodies had vanished a large stone was placed there to warn others of the vengeance meted out to anyone who dared to use the forest for criminal purposes. This stone later incorporated in the building of the temple.

To find such a story as that behind the apparent origins of Vawkavysk promoted by toponymists is almost shocking. Indeed we would expect this to be the traditional tale. Note this narrative is from a single document, is from a much later date than most place names, and the absolute proof comes from the river. While the Nietupa River provided an apparent barrier to travellers in the sixteenth century, there is no major river here today, nor any water course which might prove difficult to cross.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Djibouti Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Djibouti and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names and starting with the capital.

Djibouti City gave its name to the country, the city thought to have originated as the Afar word gabouri meaning 'plate'. This would have been a ceremonial item, a plate woven from the fibres of doum-palms.

Tadjoura comes from Afar, where the noun tagor, or tagar in the plural, speaks of 'that which has goatskin flasks for drawing water'. This should not be taken overly literally and is understood as simply speaking of 'an abundance of water'.

Dikhil is from the Somali language where dikhil simply refers to 'a watering hole'.

Loyada gets its name from the Afar Le-adu meaning 'the white watering place'. This became Loowya adde in Somali, changing the meaning slightly to 'with white calves'. Note the French spelling of Loyada is today increasingly seen as the Somali Lawya caddo.

Considering the location it should not be overly unsurprising to find all these place names to be based on a supply of water.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Bangladesh Place Names

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time to cast my net a little wider. This time Bangladesh and a look at some of its largest settlements and most interesting names.

Dhaka is the capital and largest city, the origins of which are uncertain but not lacking in suggestions. Most often this is said to come from the dhak tree, also called the flame of the forest, which may once have been common in the area. However we also find this explained as from the goddess Dhakeshwari, her shrine being found in the city. A third story refers to a musical instrument, the dhak being played by Subahdar Islam Khan I when the city was founded in 1610. Fourth is Dhaka Bhasa, a Prakrit dialect reference to ‘a watch tower’. Perhaps we shall never know.

Chittagong is a westernised version of the Bengali name of Chattagram, Chattagaon, Chattala, Chativavo, Chaityabhumi, and Chatgaon. Although the Arabs had long known the port as Shetgang, from Shatt or ‘delta’ and Ganga meaning ‘Ganges’, a Chinese traveller recorded the name as Cheh-ti-gan and this is said to have produced the modern form.

Rajshahi is generally accepted as coming from the Hindi Raj and Persian-influenced Shahi which both refer to either the ‘royal’ or the ‘kingdom’ depending upon context.

Narayanganj got its name from the religious leader Bicon Lal Pandey, a Hindu also known as Benur Thakur or Lakshi Narayan Thakur.

Note the spellings of the places are in English as the piece is in English.

Australian Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. This time we look at Australia which, at least as far as place names is concerned, is very new. Several are named after people, others transferred, and thus some of the explanations are more histories than etymologies.

Sydney is not the capital city but is the largest city, indeed over 20% of Australia's entire population live here. The settlement was officially named on 7th February 1788, recognising the role played by Thomas Townsend in establishing this place. Note it was not named after him directly, but took that of his title. Lord Sydney. This is not actually from a place, as would be the case with most titles, and the history behind it is a little unusual. When offered the title he originally opted for Baron Sidney, itself to honour Algernon Sidney, a member of the family who is better remembered for his opposition to tyranical monarchy. However he feared other members of the family would try to show they had greater claim on this title and so he then went for the village of Sydneham in Kent, very close to his home town, until he opted for the alternative spelling of Algernon's surname.

Melbourne is also taken from a title, Lord Melbourne being the prime minister of Great Britain when the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Bourke, named the newly-founded colony in August 1835. William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, took the title on the death of his father who had adopted the name of a Derbyshire village having a name meaning 'mill stream'. Today the British Melbourne has a population of little more than 5,000 despite having been in existence for over a thousand years. The Australian version, yet to celebrate 200 years, boasts 18.9% of the nation's population with a head count of almost 4.1/2 million in 2014.

Brisbane was officially named after the Brisbane River on which it stands. The river itself is named after is named after the Governor of New South Wales from 1821 to 1825, one Sir Thomas Brisbane. Apart from his political career, the Scotland-born Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane was also a keen astronomer and built the first observatory in Australia.

Perth is the first place not to be named after a person, but comes from another city. Perth in Scotalnd has a population of some 50,000 today, the Western Australian capital city has over 2 million inhabitants. The Scots version is named from a Pictish word meaning simply 'wood' or maybe the smaller 'copse'.

Adelaide is the only other city in Australia to have a population in excess of one million. As any trivia buff will know it was named after the queen consort of King William IV, Queen Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen.

Tweed Heads takes the name of the Tweed River on which it stands, this purported to be named after its Scottish counterpart and there seems little chance of it being anything else. The Scots version comes from the Gaelic thuaidh meaning 'north'.

Newcastle was transferred from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, itself clearly speaking of a rebuilt fortification. The reason for the choice is easy to see when considering earlier names for the settlement - we can ignore Kingstown as the place was aonly known as such briefly - the original name was Coal River, and Newcastle is famous as having been the great port for coal.

Maitland takes us back to places named after people. Here the city is held to have been inspired by Sir George Maitland, Under Secretary for the Colonies and MP for Whitchurch, Hampshire.

Canberra is the first example of an indigenous place name, although the present version has been greatly Anglicised. The tales of this being named Canberry because of the number of the native Australian Cranberry bushes growing around here seems fanciful, at best. Possibly this is indeed an Anglicised version of the old Ngunnawal word meaning 'meeting place', although other sources point to the two mountains which dominate the skyline and thus the river running between them is the nganbira or 'hollow between a woman's breasts'.

Queanbeyan is a second from an indigenous word, although here there is no doubting this is from quinbean meaning 'clear waters'.

Wollongong is another indigenous name but one where the meaning is disputed. Various suggestions have included 'seas of the south', 'great feast of fish', 'hard ground near water', song of the sea', 'sound of the waves', 'many snakes', and 'five islands'.

Hobart was named after Lord Hobart, the Colonial Secretary. Initially it was styled Hobart Town or sometimes Hobarton.

Geelong, founded in 1827, took an indigenous name of Jillong, itself thought to mean 'land' or possibly 'cliffs'.

Cairns was named after the Governor of Queensland at the time, one William Wellington Cairns.

Darwin was named after Charles Darwin, although when HMS Beagle sailed into the harbour on September 9th 1839 the famous naturalist had not been on board for three years.

Ballarat was named by Scottish squatter Archibald Yuille, he establishing his sheep run here in 1837 and taking the local name of balla arat or 'resting place'.

Bendigo was named after the Bendigo Creek, both first mentioned during the Victorian Gold Rush on November 1851. Bendigo has a population of a little over 91,000 individuals and is named after Bendigo's Hut, where a shepherd of that name once lived. This was not his real name but a nickname, itself coming from the Nottingham bare-knuckle prize-fighter William Abendego Thompson, usually billed as Bendigo Thompson. The shepherd is purported to have earned the nickname as he was something of a pugilist himself and is recorded as also being referred to as 'the fighting sailor'.

Wagga Wagga is a reminder of how the native language has no plural form as such but simply repeates the word to show there is more than one. As the Wiradjuri word wagga means 'crow', the name of Wagga Wagga would mean 'place of many crows'. However the basic defintion is disputed and alternative meanings for wagga include 'reeling' and 'dance, slide, grind'.

Armenian Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals, I began looking elsewhere. This time to Eastern Europe and the nation of Armenia, where the capital contains around a third of the total population of 3 million, and there is only one other settlement with more than one hundred thousand inhabitants. Note that while figures are difficult to prove, it is thought there are more than 5 million Armenians living outside the boundaries of the present nation. We begin with the largest and, as is often the case, the capital city.

Yerevan is not only the capital but can lay claim to one of the oldest continually-inhabited cities on the planet, although it has only been the capital city since 1918 when it became the thirteenth to be nominated as such. Traditionally the city was named after King Yervand IV, the last of his name to rule Armenia and also the last leader of the Orontid Dynasty, which died out around 200BC, and known founder of the city of Yervandashat. More likely is this was named from the Urartian fort of Erebuni, built on the same site as the modern city in 782 BC. This evolved from Erebuni, through Erevani, Erewan, Ervan, Arevan, Revan, Ayravan and Erevan to modern Yerevan. This is recognised in the name of the modern national anthem, Erebuni - Yerevan adopted on September 27th 2004. Little is known about the origin of Erebuni, although writers from the early Christian era in Armenia maintained it came from Noah, whose exclamation meant "It's appeared!" when the ark landed on Mount Ararat. This famed mountain not only dominates the city but is also the symbol of the Armenian nation.

Gyumri has been renamed several times. Founded as Kumaryi it became Alexabdropol under Russian rule from 1837 to 1924, then through Soviet influence the Armenian Leninakan until 1990, when the modern name was adopted. The original name is thought to be a local pronunciation of the Cimmerians who conquered this region around 720 BC. The Cimmerians were of Iranian extraction, possibly known as the Gimirri and hailing from the city of Gamir. The origin of their name is even more uncertain than the history of these people, although the modern Georgian word Gimirri has been used to mean 'hero'. As already stated this is the only other city with a population exceeding six figures and yet that may not be true for much longer if current trends persist. Figures from the 2011 census give this a population of 121,976, a significant reduction from 10 years previously when it numbered 150,917, almost 20%.

Vanadzor is another having several names, Gharakilisa (the Turkic for 'the black church' and a reference to the black stone of the 13th-century church of the Holy Mother of God) under Russian rule, the Soviets knew the place as Kirovakan (after the Bolshevik leader Sergey Kirov), and as the modern name from 1992. The present name comes from the Vanadzor River, itself of unknown origin.

Vagharsapat has evidence of human habitation for at least five thousand years. The first written evidence of the settlement comes from 685 BC when it was known as Kuarlini, although later writings suggest it had been known as Artimed, from the Ancient Greek god Artemis, and later Avan Vardegesi or 'town of Vardges', and got this name from Valashabad and named after King Valash during the Byzantine rule of the 1st century AD. The minor change to the modern form reflects changes in the Armenian language.

Kapan comes directly from the Armenian kapel meaning 'to lock' and describes the topographical feature where the valley is surrounded by mountain chains.

Artashat is of Iranian origin and speaks of 'the joy of Arta', an Iranian religious ideal.

Ijevan was formerly known as Karavansara, each meaning 'inn' in Armenian and Persian, respectively. This is an indication this place was on an important trade route and continues to be so to this day.

Goris was formerly known as Kores and Gorayk, both simply variations of the present name. Several explanations have been offered as to its origins, most often attributed to the Indo-European gor es or 'the rocky place'.

Charentsavan is of recent origins, named in 1967 after Yeghishe Charents, an Armenian poet, writer and activist.

Ararat is a town and province of Armenia, all clearly named after one of the world's most famous peaks. It is also known as Masis, derived from the Armenian King Amasya; as Agri Dagi, the Ottoman Turkish name meaning 'heavy mountain'; as Ciyaye Agiri or 'fiery mountain', a reminder this is a dormant volcano which last erupted in 1840; and as Kuh-e-Nuh, the Persian for 'Noah's mountain' and named from the Islamic viewpoint. The most common of Ararat comes from the ancient kingdom of Urartu, itself of Assyrian origin and thought to refer to a region where several kingdoms or tribes were resident for it means simply 'lands'. The Urartians themselves, first records date from some 3,300 years ago, called the place Khaldini after their god Khaldi.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Antigua and Barbuda Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals, I began looking elsewhere. This time to the Caribbean and the nation of Antigua and Barbuda, although the settlements are not quite on the scale of those covered in previous posts. Indeed it is interesting to note the ten largest settlements have a combined population of just 39,160 and over half of those are in the capital of Saint John's. These figures are based on the census of 2012.

Saint John's is, somewhat predictably, after the dedication of its principal place of worship. The white baroque towers of St John's Cathedral dominate the skyline of a city where the two other major contructions are two sporting arenas used almost solely for cricket.

All Saints is another named for its church, although this is by no means on the same scale as St John's as the population here numbered just 3,412 at the last census.

Liberta is began when former slaves bought up small parcels of land from the estate owner, she having fallen into financial problems. Splitting their time between working their own property, the docks and the plantations, their income enabled a community to spring up virtually instantaneously. Very soon this community had its own shops and in 1842, just seven years after their emancipation, the place erected the first written evidence of the name on the sign showing one had just entered "The Village of Liberta" of 'liberty'.

Potter's Village is near the above-mentioned All Saints, itself a settlement famed for its pottery and this is where Potters Village gets its name. That this, the four largest settlement in terms of population, is still a village is down to it being the only other place, other than the above, to have a population in excess of 2,000.

Bolans was named after the Boland estate, John Boland having staked his claim to this place in 1749. By 1872 the estate, by then known as Bolans, had been split into five smaller estates and the village of Bolans existed by the 1850s.

Swetes, sometimes given as Sweet's, was named after the plantation owner in the early eighteenth century, one Main Swete. He arrived in Antigua having travelled from Modbury in South Devon, United Kingdom. He was a member of the House of Assembly by 1715 and died here twenty years later.

Sea View Farm is a settlement which seems to be named rather badly. For one thing the name seems rather odd considering this place has a population of 1,486, although that can be explained through the growth of the settlement over the years, predominatly through the making of pottery for which this area is well known. However no rational explanation can be found for the name of 'Sea View', especially when we consider the other claim to fame here is the village is ostensibly the exact centre of the island of Antigua. However as one can never be more than 6 miles from the sea in Antigua this place was probably named ironically. Sea View was also known as King Village, again because of its pottery.

Piggotts was named after the Piggot family. They came here from Ireland and built the first sugar mill towers on Antigua.

Codrinton is the largest settlement on the island of Barbuda, here the population reached 1,325 in 2012. It is named after the man who founded the place in 1674, Sir Christopher Codrington, whose family took their name from the village of Codrington in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. One part of the town, founded as part of a sugar plantation, is still named Betty's Hope and was named after Sir Christopher's daughter, Elizabeth Codrington.

Parham is the oldest town on Antigua, sharing its name with Parham Hill and Parham Harbour, a natural and well-protected anchorage which made this choice a simple one. Parham was the name of the Wesleyan family who came here by 1701 when a record refers to "Parham, our second town of trade. We have no guns." Today the place is associated with obeah, a religion of sorcery or folk magic found solely in the Caribbean.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Argentina's Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals, I began casting my net a little wider. This time the country is Argentina and some of its largest towns and cities and beginning with the largest.

Buenos Aires was originally named Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires by Spanish sailors upon their arrival in the River de la Plata. This was to thank 'the Holy Virgin Mary of the Good Winds' for bringing them safely across, what must then have seemed, a most formidable journey across the Atlantic Ocean. When the city was first founded it was known as Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, but this settlement had been abandoned by 1541. In 1580 the present settlement Ciudad de la Santisima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa Maria del Buen Aire or 'City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds' had been named. Its current shortened form had become the norm by the end of the seventeenth century.

Cordoba was founded by the Spaniard Jeronimo Luis de Cabrera in June 1573. The name was probably coined by him to honour the home of his wife, Cordoba in Spain, itself named by the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca as Kartuba or 'City of Juba' after a Numidian commander killed in the battle for the region.

Rosario was officially declared a city as recently as August 3rd 1852, at the time known as Pago de los Arroyos or 'land of the streams' and there are a number of small rivers crossing the landscape here. However Rosario had been the name of the settlement since its earliest record from October 1793, when it was said to already have 457 inhabitants. Rosario translates as 'rosary'.

Mendoza was founded on March 2nd 1561 by Pedro del Castillo and named Ciudad de Mendoza del Nuevo Valle de La Rioja after the then governor of Chile, Don Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza.

La Plata has been designed on a grid system revealed by its nickname of la ciudad de las diagonales 'City of Diagonals', although other sources refer to it as la ciudad de los tilos 'the city of linden trees' and there are a large number. The name comes from the river, the Rio de la Plata being 'the river of silver'.

Tucuman, in full San Miguel de Tucuman, is thought to come from the Quechua language and probably began as Yucuman or 'place of several rivers'. Alternatively this may represent Tucma or 'the end of things' and then a reference to the outer limits of the Inca Empire.

Mar del Plata shares an origin with La Plata, this being 'the sea of the River Plate region'.

Salta is nicknamed Salta la Linda or 'Salta the beautiful', the origin of the name of the Salta Valley in which it lies depends upon which language it came from. Perhaps it is an Indian tribe, or has the meaning 'craggy place', or possibly 'meeting of the outstanding', or even from the Aymara for 'very beautiful'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Angolan Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names, and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals, I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. This time the country of Angloa and some of the largest towns and cities beginning with the largest.

Luanda, earlier given as Loanda, is of uncertain origins but with two most commonly cited meanings. The most popular is this is derived from a native word meaning 'tax' and a reference to the tribute of shellfish sent to the ruler of Congo. Others point to the earlier name of Loanda being a word meaning 'flat land'. From an etymological perspective the second explanation is more likely as it comes from a known word, while also being a typical definition of a place name. While it is easy to see why the first explanation is the most popular, it can almost be discounted entirely and for three good reasons: not least because the root word is unrecorded; conversely the word loanda is known and fits the topography; and the latter definition is exactly what we would expect from a place name (the most simple is invariably correct even if the least desirable).

Huambo, known to the Portuguese as Nova Lisboa or New Lisbon, and gets its name from the Wambo, one of the former Ovimbundu kingdoms of Angola. The Wambo were a Bantu tribe, one of several who migrated here from Namibia. The origin of their name is completely unknown but the word 'wambo' is found elsewhere, although the ancient Proto-Germanic wambo meaning either 'belly, bowels, uterus' and even meaning 'heart' as in the sense 'central' depending upon the context, is certainly not related. From an implausible ancient offering to an impossible contemporary source, yet still worth a mention. The 'word' was used in a scene from Spongebob Squarepants when the eponymous character is discussing a setting on Mermaidman's belt with Patrick Star. Patrick informs Spongebob he has the setting wrong: "You've set it to 'M' for 'mini' when it should be 'W' for 'wambo'. Spongebob: "Wambo? Don't think that's a real word." Patrick: Of course it is! I wambo, you wambo, he, she, me wambo. Wambology, the study of wama. It's first grade, Spongebob!" Having said the latter is an impossible origin for wambo it is quite likely, now this has appeared on the internet, that Patrick Star will one day be cited by someone as the man who named an Angolan city.

Lobito is a city named because of its long use as a trading post, a fitting excuse for also naming the Bay of Lobito as it is one of the finest natural harbours on this coast of Africa. It comes from pitu, an Umbundu word which, when prefixed by olu, can be defined as something akin to 'passageway, door' even 'pathway'. The pronunication has changed from the original Olupitu to Lupitu and through Portuguese influence to the modern form.

Uige was renamed in 1955 as Vila Marechal Carmona, to honour the former president of Portugal, Oscar Carmona. When declared a city it was reduced to Carmona and, in 1975, returned to Uige which is also the name of the province. Pronounced 'weej', the origins of the name are unknown and yet there is an Irish name which comes from a word with the same spelling. The name 'Higgins', and every variant spelling, is derived from the Old Irish uige meaning 'knowledge, skill, ingenuity'.

Namibe, somewhat predictably, shares an origin with the neighbouring Namib Desert and which is from a Nama word meaning 'vast place', a fairly apt description of a strip of land along the coast which has an average width of 124 miles wide but over 1,200 miles long. Note the Nama language is officially called Khoekhoe and is the most widespread of the non-Bantu languages containing click sounds.

Soyo was originally known as Sonho and a province of the Kingdom of Kongo and ruled by the Mwene Soyo or 'Lord of Soyo', he usually a member of the Kongo royal family. Again the meaning of the name of the Angolan place is unknown but, just as with Huambo and Uige, we do find the word used in quite unrelated areas. There is an example found in Tahiti, most often used for the name of a cocktail, and means 'out of this world. Similarly there is a reference to soyo in Paraguay, this a shortened form of so'o josopy where so'o meant 'meat' and josopyre 'crushed'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Algerian Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. This time the African country of Algeria and some of its largest cities and towns which are listed in terms of population and begins with the biggest ....

Algiers reflects the French colonial days and comes from the French name of Alger and the Catalan Alger. In turn this comes from the Arabic name of al-Jaza'ir and translates as 'the islands'. Look at a map today and the islands will prove a mystery, yet until 1525 there were four very distinct islands which became a part of the mainland. Al Jaza'ir is an abbreviated form of the earlier name of Jaza'ir Bani Mazghana or 'the islands of the sons of Mazghana', a Berber people. Earlier this had been a Roman town known as Icosium which, as with just about every place name in the Roman Empire, was there version of the existing name, in this case the Phoenician trading post known as Ikosim. This Phoenician name is derived from a Greek legend, the place said to have been founded by twenty companions of Hercules with this being from the Greek word for 'twenty'.

Oran has a link to the capital city of Algiers in the Berber people and, at least in the example, their language. Here we find the Berber root hr meaning 'lion'. Around 3,000 years ago it is said there were lions to be seen around here. Legend has it the last two were killed on a nearby mountain which is now known as The Mountain of the Lions and large statues of these creatures stand outside the city's administrative centre.

Constantine was named in honour of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, although originally the Romans had known the place as Cirta. To the Phoenicians this was Tzirta, but destroyed by the Romans at the beginning of the fourth century and rebuilt by them. The original name simply referred to this as a trading post.

Annaba has some of the earliest examples of advanced flake-tool techniques in the Middle Palaeolithic and has been occupied for at least 200,000 years. While we have no idea what the place was called for the vast majority of its existence - although it would be surprising to find anything other than the most simplistic names such as 'place' or 'home' - we do know it was settled by the Phoenicians around 1300 BC and later known as Hippo Regius by the Romans. Hippo is from the Punic ubon meaning 'harbour' with Regius 'of the king' referring to this being home to Numidian kings. The present name of Annaba is also from the origin ubon.

Blida is from bulaydah and ultimately from the Arabic word belda meaning 'city'.

Sidi Bel Abbes is named after Sidi bel Abbass a Muslim marabout who is buried here. A marabout being a religious leader and teacher.

Biskra was known to the Romas as Vescera although some records refer to this as Ad Piscinam a reference to the large pool of water heated by sulphurous springs to 45 degrees celsius and literally means 'at the waterworks'. It seems Vescera may have been a rather bad translation of the earlier native name. The modern name is Arabic and also refers to the hot waters, although the literal translation of 'boil' should be seen more as a reference to the bubbling of the hot waters.

Tebessa has seen its name change little over many centuries. The Romans, Arabs, French all simply using the existing name, albeit with a little corruption through pronunciation. This comes from the Greek name for the place which translated to 'one hundred gates'.

El Oued is known as 'the City of a Thousand Domes' and yet the name has a much simpler origin from the Arabic for 'river'. The city is built around an oasis, itself fed by an underground river which gave the place its name and helped the people grow their new home by growing dates and the quite rare production of bricks in the desert.

Tiaret is another name of Berber origin and, like Oran, has its origins in a big cat. However here the meaning is 'lioness', pointing to the Barbary lions once living in this region. Barbary lions, also refered to as the Atlas lion, is a species now considered extinct in the wild. The last recorded death by shooting being in 1942, although the species was certainly still in existence until at least the 1950s and some unconfirmed reports speak of sightings in the 1960s. It is thought to be extinct in captivity but, at least genetically, must survive in some form among the many animals bred in European zoos and a programme is looking at a selective breeding programme to eliminate the hybrid elements.

Note the spellings of the places are mostly English as the piece is written in English.