10 More Wacky Origins of Names of African Countries

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10 More Wacky Origins of Names of African Countries

We have already featured the first ten origins of meaning of the first ten African countries alphabetically. Here are the next ten. The only two African countries mentioned in the bible coincidentally appear on our todays list!

Comoros

The name "Comoros" is derived from the Arabic kamar or kumr, meaning "moon," although this name was first applied by Arab geographers to Madagascar. It was adopted by French Colonialists to describe the Islands.

Congo

Its named after the 15^th century Kingdom of Kongo which thrived on both banks of the River Congo, extending into Modern day Congo, Congo DR, Angola and Zambia. Kongo is from a Bantu word meaning "http://dictionary.reference.comountains" (i.e., the river that flows from the mountains).

Congo Democratic Republic

Like for the Congo, Also formerly known as Zaire a traditional local name for River Congo.

Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

 The ivory Coast was named so in reference to the availability of ivory. Ivory was then an important trade commodity for the Europeans.

Djibouti

 (Formerly Territory of the Afars and Issas), its named after its Port capital Djibouti.

The Afars say it came from the word Gabood. In their contacts with the Arabs, the word became Gabuut, Gabuuti, Jabuuti.

  

Egypt

600 × 600 - washlaw.edu

Direct geographical descendent of Ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs. The name Egypt is derived from Aegyptos which in turn is a contraction of the Greek term Hi-Gi-Ptos. Hi-Gi-Ptos was a Greek transliteration of the ancient term Het-Ka-Ptah. Het (Hit, Hat) meant "place," and Ka is a term that has been subjected to many translations by Egyptologists. We choose the indigenous definition, "the physical projection of the soul"—not the body, which was Khat or Khet but the personality that attaches itself to the body.

Equatorial Guinea

I had some really hard time trying to differentiate New Guinea from Equatorial Guinea. These two countries however lie far apart from each other. New Guinea is in Oceania.

Guinea derives from the Berber word aguinaw, or gnawa ("black man"), which Berbers (Nomadic Saharan Peoples) have used to describe most of Black  West Africa

Eritrea

The Latin phrase Mare Erythraeum ("Red Sea") was used by Italy and other powers  to describe colonies in the horn of Africa. For example an early writing The periplus of the Erythrean Sea describes a journey through the Red Sea to Indian Ocean. With time and distortion  it became Eritrea and was adopted by the country on independence from Ethiopia.

Ethiopia

 Direct geographical descendent of Ancient Ethiopia. The name Ethiopia derived, from the Greek form, aithiopia, from the two words aitho, “I burn”, and ops, “face”. It would hence mean the colored man’s land — the land of the scorched faces.

http://www.mytripblog.org/pg/blog/ethiopia-social-manager/read/37066/meaning-and-derivation-of-the-name-ethiopia

 robilivinc.wordpress.com