Mexico

→ Assamese: মেক্সিকো (meksikü)

→ Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܟܣܝܩܘ (mksiqw)

→ Burmese: မက္ကဆီကို (makka.hcikui)

→ Chinese: 墨西哥 (Mòxīgē)

→ Dhivehi: މެކްސިކޯ (mek̊sikō)

→ Finnish: Meksiko

→ Hebrew: מֶקְסִיקוֹ (méksiko)

→ Hindi: मेक्सिको (meksiko)

→ Irish: Meicsiceo

→ Japanese: メキシコ (Mekishiko)

→ Korean: 멕시코 (Meksiko)

→ Thai: เม็กซิโก (mék-sí-goo)

→ Yoruba: Mẹ́síkò

Borrowed from Spanish México, from Classical Nahuatl Mēxihco, a place-name referring to the Mēxihcah (Mexica/Aztecs).

México (alternative)
Mehico (alternative humorous pronunciation-spelling)

Aguascalientes · Baja California · Baja California Sur · Campeche · Chiapas · Chihuahua · Coahuila · Colima · Durango · Guanajuato · Guerrero · Hidalgo · Jalisco · Mexico · Michoacán · Morelos · Nayarit · Nuevo León · Oaxaca · Puebla · Querétaro · Quintana Roo · San Luis Potosí · Sinaloa · Sonora · Tabasco · Tamaulipas · Tlaxcala · Veracruz · Yucatán · Zacatecas

While I've gazed at the sky from my sleeping bag on isolated mountaintops in Montana and southern beaches of Mexico and seen a jazillion stars basking in the peace of the evening, only in Rishikesh do the jazillion merge upon another bajillion jazillion and seem to lay overhead thick as glittering ceiling tiles.

2016, Claire Krulikowski, Moonlight on the Ganga:

The path to approval has been bumpiest in Washington, where Democrats in Congress have raised concerns over Mexico’s enforcement of labor rights and environmental law — and smoothest in Mexico, where the president has described the accord as a guarantee of stability for his country’s economy.

2019 June 19, Elisabeth Malkin and Ana Swanson, “Mexico Ratifies Trade Deal With the U.S. and Canada”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2025-01-11:

Fafo works with small trading nations such as Colombia because US markets could quickly adapt to the greater expense of its coffee, flowers and other exports. There will be a different order of chaos, though, if Trump follows through on tariffs on the EU (17 per cent of US imports), Mexico (15 per cent), China (14 per cent) or Canada (12 per cent).

2025 January 27, David Charter, “Fafo diplomacy: How Colombia found out Trump meant business”, in The Times, archived from the original on 2025-01-27:

United Mexican States
United Mexican States#English

A country in North America, located south of the United States, and northwest of Guatemala and Belize from Central America. Official name: United Mexican States.


Japan

> Tok Pisin: Siapan (inherited)

→ Bengali: জাপান (japan)

→ Burmese: ဂျပန် (gya.pan)

→ Gujarati: જાપાન (jāpān)

→ Hindustani:

desctree

Hindi: जापान (jāpān)
→ Dhivehi: ޖާފާނު (jāfānu)

Urdu: جاپان (jāpān)

→ Irish: Seapáin

→ Japanese: ジャパン

→ Marathi: जपान (japān)

→ Marshallese: Jepaan

→ Persian:

Dari: جَاپَان (jāpān)

⇒ Samoan: Iapani

→ Tamil: ஜப்பான் (jappāṉ)

→ Telugu: జపాను (japānu)

→ Welsh: Japan

→ Welsh: Siapan

→ Yoruba: Jèpáànì

Etymology tree
Hokkien 日本 /Ji̍t-púnbor.
Malay Jepangbor.
Portuguese Japãobor.
Malay Jepangbor.
Dutch Japanbor.
English Japan
First attested in English as Giapan in Richard Willes's 1577 The History of Travayle in the West and East Indies (cited in Peter C. Mancall's Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery, pp. 156–57), translating a 19 February 1565 letter of the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis as "Of the Ilande of Giapan".
Borrowed from Portuguese Japão / Japam with possible influence from Dutch Japan, both from Malay Jepang, from Hokkien 日本 (Ji̍t-pún), from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwon^X, “sun origin”).
With /j/ readings, such as Iaponia / Japonia or Japon / Iapon from possibly Cantonese 日本 (jat⁶ bun²), also from Middle Chinese 日本 (nyit pwon^X, “sun origin”).
Compare also modern Mandarin 日本 (Rìběn), Japanese 日本(にっぽん) (Nippon) / 日本(にほん) (Nihon) (whence English doublets Nippon and Nihon), Korean 일본 (Ilbon) (日本), Vietnamese Nhật Bản (日本).
The earliest form of Japan in Europe was Marco Polo's Cipangu, from some form of synonymous Sinitic 日本國 /日本国 (“Japan state”).

der

Giapan (alternative obsolete)
Japonia (alternative obsolete)
Japon (alternative obsolete)

Vivian: If you set a picture by Hokusai, or Hokkei, or any of the great native painters, beside a real Japanese gentleman or lady, you will see that there is not the slightest resemblance between them. The actual people who live in Japan are not unlike the general run of English people; that is to say, they are extremely commonplace, and have nothing curious or extraordinary about them. In fact the whole of Japan is a pure invention. There is no such country, there are no such people... if you desire to see a Japanese effect, you will not behave like a tourist and go to Tokio. On the contrary, you will stay at home and steep yourself in the work of certain Japanese artists, and then, when you have absorbed the spirit of their style, and caught their imaginative manner of vision, you will go some afternoon and sit in the Park or stroll down Piccadilly, and if you cannot see an absolutely Japanese effect there, you will not see it anywhere.

1889 Jan., Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying: An Observation", The Nineteenth Century

Japan’s very interesting. Some people think it copies things. I don’t think that anymore. I think what they do is reinvent things. They will get something that’s already been invented and study it until they thoroughly understand it. In some cases, they understand it better than the original inventor... That strategy works only when what they’re working with isn’t changing very much—the stereo industry and the automobile industry are two examples. When the target is moving quickly, they find it very difficult...

1985 February, Steve Jobs, interview with David Sheff, Playboy

Nolan: You do know Japan have expressed concern?
Douglas: What, the whole country?
Nolan: No, not the whole... Mr Yamamoto.
Douglas: He's important, isn't he?
Nolan: He's the major shareholder.

2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1

In particular, Kumamoto prefecture in southwestern Japan is quickly becoming a hotbed for tech investment from companies including TSMC and Fujifilm Holdings Corp (FUJIF).

2023 May 18, Reuters, “Chipmakers look to Japan as worries about China grow”, in CNN Business:


Netherlands

en-proper noun

the Netherlands (usually uncountable, plural the Netherlands)

the Netherlands (canonical)
the Netherlands (plural)
The Netherlands (alternative)

From nether (“lower”) + lands, the country being very low-lying, with a great part below sea level. Either a calque or a parallel formation to Dutch Nederland.

constituent countries
constituent country

A country in Western Europe, consisting of four constituent countries: the Netherlands per se, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Ҳоландиа

country in northwestern Europe — see also Holland


Iraq

Iraqs (plural)
Irak (alternative dated rare)
'Irâq (alternative rare)
Irâq (alternative rare)
'Irāq (alternative rare)
Irāq (alternative rare)
ʿIrāq (alternative rare)

Borrowed from Arabic الْعِرَاق (al-ʕirāq, “Iraq”).

bor+

The AK-47s handed in would then be registered in the database before being redistributed to new units formed as Iraq takes over security control from U.S.-led forces, he said.

2007 August 9, “M-16s a step forward for Iraqi forces, says US”, in Reuters:

Republic of Iraq
Republic of Iraq#English

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East. Official name: Republic of Iraq. Capital and largest city: Baghdad.


Belgium

en-prop

Belgium (usually uncountable, plural Belgiums)

Borrowed from Latin Belgium, from the name of the tribe of Belgae.

The higher levels of chlorate were discovered during routine testing at the company's production facility in Ghent, Belgium, according to an unnamed company spokesperson quoted by the AFP news agency.

2025 January 29, Lucy Hooker, “Coca-Cola recalls drinks in UK due to chemical levels”, in BBC News:

Kingdom of Belgium
Kingdom of Belgium#English

A country in Western Europe that has borders with the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France. Official name: Kingdom of Belgium. Capital and largest city: Brussels.


Greece

→ Korean: 그리스 (Geuriseu)

→ Thai: กรีซ (grìis)

→ Iban: Gerika

From Middle English Grece, from Old French Grece, from Latin Graecia, from Ancient Greek Γραικός (Graikós). Replaced Old English Grēcland, also from the same Latin source.

Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe#English

Hellenic Republic
Hellenic Republic#English

A country in Southeast Europe. Official name: Hellenic Republic. Capital and largest city: Athens.


former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

en-proper noun

(the) former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

(historical) Former long form of North Macedonia: a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula; used in diplomatic circles before the 2019 agreement that produced the name North Macedonia due to the naming dispute with Greece over the former name of the country, Macedonia; abbreviation FYROM.

provisional designation of the Republic of North Macedonia — see also Republic of North Macedonia, North Macedonia

Voormalige Joego-Slawiese Republiek Masedonië

jumhūriyya(t) maqdūniyā l-yūḡūslāfiyya(t) as-sābiqa

جُمْهُورِيَّة مَقْدُونِيَا اليُوغُوسْلَافِيَّة السَابِقَة

Antigua Republica Yugoslava de Macedonia

naxkin Haravslaviayi Makedoniayi Hanrapetutʻyun

նախկին Հարավսլավիայի Մակեդոնիայի Հանրապետություն

Antigua República Yugoslava de Macedonia

Keçmiş Yuqoslaviya Makedoniya Respublikası

Mazedoniako Jugoslaviar Errepublika Ohia

Bylája Juhasláŭskaja Respúblika Makjedónija

Была́я Югасла́ўская Рэспу́бліка Македо́нія

Би́вша Югосла́вска Репу́блика Македо́ния

Den Tidligere Jugoslaviske Republik Makedonien

Voormalige Joegoslavische Republiek Macedonië

ancienne République yougoslave de Macédoine

ყოფილი იუგოსლავიის რესპუბლიკა მაკედონია

q̇opili iugoslaviis resṗubliḳa maḳedonia

ehemalige jugoslawische Republik Mazedonien

Ehemoligi Jugoslawischi Republik Mazedonie

próin Giougkoslavikí Dimokratía tis Makedonías

πρώην Γιουγκοσλαβική Δημοκρατία της Μακεδονίας

harepúblika hayugoslávya l'she'avár shel makedónya

הָרֶפּוּבְּלִיקָה הָיוּגוֹסְלַבְיָה לְשֶׁעָבַר שֶׁל מָקֶדוֹנְיָה

Fyrrum júgóslavneska lýðveldið Makedónía

Būrynğy Ügoslaviä Makedoniä Respublikasy

Бұрынғы Югославия Македония Республикасы

이전 유고슬라비아 마께도니아 공화국

ijeon yugoseullabia makkedonia gonghwaguk

Komara Yûgoslavî ya Kevnar a Makedonyayê

Murdagı Yugoslaviya Makedoniya Respublikası

Мурдагы Югославия Македония Республикасы

Bijusī Dienvidslāvijas Republika Maķedonija

Vreuger Joegoslavische Rippebliek Macedonië

Buvusi Jugoslavijos Respublika Makedonija

Poranešna Jugoslovenska Republika Makedonija

Поранешна Југословенска Република Македонија

Den tidligere jugoslaviske republikk Makedonia

Den tidlegare jugoslaviske republikken Makedonia

Bývšaja Jugoslávskaja Respúblika Makedónija

Бы́вшая Югосла́вская Респу́блика Македо́ния

бивша југословенска Република Македонија

бивша југославенска Република Македонија

bivša jugoslovenska Republika Makedonija

bivša jugoslavenska Republika Makedonija

Bývalá juhoslovanská republika Macedónsko

Nekdanja jugoslovanska republika Makedonija

Bywša Južnosłowjanska Republika Makedonska

Jamhuri ya zamani ya Yugoslavia ya Makedonia

Före detta jugoslaviska republiken Makedonien

Ҷумҳурии собиқ Югославии Македония

Jumhuri-yi sobiq Yugoslavi-yi Makedoniya

Elekkege uggoslawiyä Maqedoniyä Respublikası

Элеккеге ugгославия Македония Республикасы

Kolýšnja Juhoslávsʹka Respúblika Makedónija

Коли́шня Югосла́вська Респу́бліка Македо́нія

Sobiq Yugoslaviya Respublikasi Makedoniya


United Arab Emirates

/jʊˌnaɪ̯ɾɪ̈d ˌɛɹəb ˈɛmɪɹɪts/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Soundguys-United Arab Emirates.wav

Calque of Arabic الْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَّة الْمُتَّحِدَة (al-ʔimārāt al-ʕarabiyya l-muttaḥida).

cal

The expected announcement is tied to his trip to the Middle East next week, where he’ll visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the officials said.

2025 May 7, Alayna Treene, “Trump planning to change how US refers to Persian Gulf”, in CNN:

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East. Capital: Abu Dhabi. Largest city: Dubai.

阿拉伯聯合酋長國 /阿拉伯联合酋长国

aa³ laai¹ baak³ lyun⁴ hap⁶ jau⁴ zoeng² gwok³

アラブ首長国連邦

アラブしゅちょうこくれんぽう


United Kingdom

the United Kingdom (canonical)
UK (alternative initialism)
U.K. (alternative initialism)

desc

ယူနိုက်တက်ကင်းဒမ်း

→ Burmese: ယူနိုက်တက်ကင်းဒမ်း (yunuiktakkang:dam:)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *éy?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos
Proto-Italic *oinos
Old Latin oinos
Latin ūnus
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Latin -iō
Latin ūniō
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Italic *-tos
Latin -tus
Latin ūnītuslbor.
Middle English uniten
English unite
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos
Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz
Old English -od
Middle English -ed
English -ed
English united
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-yós
Proto-Germanic *kunją
Proto-Germanic *-ingaz
Proto-Germanic *kuningaz
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-mos
Proto-Indo-European *dʰóh₁mos
Proto-Germanic *dōmaz
Proto-Germanic *-dōmaz
Proto-Germanic *kuningadōmaz
Proto-West Germanic *kuningadōm
Old English cyningdōm
Middle English kingdom
English kingdom
English United Kingdom
From united + kingdom, first attested from 1706.

etymon

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

A kingdom and country in Northern Europe, comprising the four countries of England, Scotland and Wales on the island of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland on the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland since 1922.


United States of America

the United States of America (canonical)

desc

ܐܘܚܕܢܐ ܡܚܘܝܕܐ ܕܐܡܝܪܝܟܐ

uḥdānē mḥūyḏē d-āmērīkā

→ Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܘܚܕܢܐ ܡܚܘܝܕܐ ܕܐܡܝܪܝܟܐ (uḥdānē mḥūyḏē d-āmērīkā) (calque)

মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র

→ Bengali: মার্কিন যুক্তরাষ্ট্র (markin juktoraśṭro) (calque)

→ Chinese: 美利堅合眾國 /美利坚合众国 (Měilìjiān hézhòngguó) (calque)

ޔުނައިޓެޑް ސްޓޭޓްސް އޮފް އެމެރިކާ

→ Dhivehi: ޔުނައިޓެޑް ސްޓޭޓްސް އޮފް އެމެރިކާ (yunaiṭeḍ sṭēṭs of emerikā)

→ Dutch: Verenigde Staten van Amerika (calque)

→ French: États-Unis d'Amérique (calque)

→ Green Hmong: Koom Sab Teb Amelika (calque)

સંયુકત રાજ્ય અમેરિકા

→ Gujarati: સંયુકત રાજ્ય અમેરિકા (Sanyukat rājya amerikā) (calque)

संयुक्त राष्ट्र अमरीका

→ Hindi: संयुक्त राष्ट्र अमरीका (sãyukt rāṣṭra amrīkā) (calque)

→ Indonesian: Amerika Serikat (calque)

اميريکا شريکت

→ Malay: اميريکا شريکت (Amerika Syarikat) (calque)

Америка Кошмо Штаттары

→ Kyrgyz: Америка Кошмо Штаттары (Amerika Koşmo Ştattarı) (calque)

ສະຫະລັດອະເມລິກາ

→ Lao: ສະຫະລັດອະເມລິກາ (sa ha lat ʼa mē li kā) (calque)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: Amerikas forente stater (calque)

→ Portuguese: Estados Unidos da América (calque)

⇒ Samoan: Iunaite Sitete o Amerika

अमेरिकायाः संयुक्तराज्यानि

→ Sanskrit: अमेरिकायाः संयुक्तराज्यानि (amerikāyāḥ saṃyuktarājyāni) (calque)

→ White Hmong: Koom Siab Teb Amelika (calque)

First attested in 1776, see names of the United States.

Mexico and Canada border the United States of America.

Whereas the Delegates of the United States of America in Congreſs assembled did on the 15th day of November in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy seven, and in the Second Year of the Independence of America agree to certain articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of Newhampſhire, Maſsachusetts-bay, Rhodeiſland and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in the Words following, viz.[…]
ARTICLE I. The Stile of this confederacy shall be "The United States of America."

1777 November 15 [1776], Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, Philadelphia: Second Continental Congress, →OCLC, page 1:

As we here at home contemplate our own duties, our own responsibilities, let us think and think hard of the example which is being set for us by our fighting men. Our soldiers and sailors are members of well disciplined units. But they are still and forever individuals -- free individuals. They are farmers, and workers, businessmen, professional men, artists, clerks. They are the United States of America. That is why they fight. We too are the United States of America. That is why we must work and sacrifice. It is for them. It is for us. It is for victory.

1942 April 28, Franklin Roosevelt, 30:57 from the start, in Fireside Chat 21: On Sacrifice, Miller Center:

“The structure is deteriorating. The roof was leaking. The floor is sinking,” Mr. Biden said in a speech in front of the tunnel, the oldest in the Northeast, where the crowd included dozens of union workers. “This is the United States of America, for God’s sake. We know better than that.”

2023 January 30, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Mark Walker, quoting Joe Biden, “Biden Visits Decrepit Rail Tunnel to Promote $1 Trillion Infrastructure Law”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-01-30, Politics:

District of Columbia
District of Columbia

Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.#English

A country located primarily in North America, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and consisting of fifty states (including Alaska and Hawaii) and the District of Columbia, while asserting sovereignty over several territories. Capital: Washington, D.C.. Largest city: New York City.

الْوِلَايَات الْمُتَّحِدَة الْأَمْرِيكِيَّة

ཨ་མེ་རི་ཁ་རྒྱལ་ཕྲན་མཉམ་འབྲེལ་རྒྱལ་ཁབ

a me ri kha rgyal phran mnyam 'brel rgyal khab


Germany

en-prop

Germany (countable and uncountable, plural Germanys or Germanies)

From Middle English Germanie, from Old English Germanie & Germania, from Latin Germānia (“land of the Germans”), from Germānī, a people living around and east of the Rhine first attested in the 1st century B.C.E. works of Julius Caesar and of uncertain etymology. The exonym was said by Strabo to derive from germānus (“close kin; genuine”), making it cognate with germane and german, but this seems unsupported. Attempts to derive it from Germanic or Celtic roots since the 18th century are all problematic, although it is perhaps cognate with the Old Irish gair (“neighbour”). Doublet of Germania.
In reference to a medieval kingdom, English Germany is usually an anachronism using the Roman name to describe the area or calquing various Latin terms like rex Teutonicorum ("king of the Teutons"), which were often derogatory exonyms rather than formal titles.

nowrap

1st century <small class='ce-date'>B.C.E.</small>

The win made Germany the first European team to prevail in a World Cup in the Americas and gave the Germans, who have made it to the knockout stage in 16 consecutive World Cups, their first trophy since 1990.

2014 July 13, Sam Borden, “Germans End Long Wait: 24 Years and a Bit Extra”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2014-07-13:

Germans save a lot, produce plenty and spend little. The result is a massive external surplus. Last year, Germany’s current account surplus stood at almost €200 billion ($260 billion), the world's largest.

2014 September 25, Michael Heise, “The Myth of the Stupid German Investor”, in The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 2015-01-07:

Germany can’t afford to stick to the stately plod into decline that Merkel initiated any longer. Merz will have to act fast, and break things to pull the country out of the quagmire it finds itself in.

2025 February 23, Lisa Haseldine, “Whatever happens next, Merkelism is finished”, in The Telegraph, archived from the original on 2025-02-23:

Federal Republic of Germany
Federal Republic of Germany#English

The principal state in this country, including

A country in Central Europe, formed in 1949 as West Germany, with its provisional capital Bonn until 1990, when it incorporated East Germany. Official name: Federal Republic of Germany. Capital and largest city: Berlin.

Nazi Germany, Third Reich, Fascist Germany


Czech Republic

/ˈtʃɛk ɹɪˈpʌblɪk/

Hungary, Austria and Poland are still refusing to participate in the resettlement plan, due to end in September. Other Eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia, are only doing so on a limited basis, the commission said.

2017 March 2, Eliza Mackintosh, “No more excuses on resettling refugees, European Commission warns”, in CNN:

A country in Central Europe. Capital and largest city: Prague. Until 1993, part of Czechoslovakia.


France

en-prop

France (usually uncountable, plural Frances)

→ Assamese: ফ্ৰান্স (phranso)

→ Hawaiian: Palani

→? Japanese: フランス (Furansu)

→ Kalenjin: Frans

→ Kikuyu: Frans

→ Luhya: Frans

→ Meru: Frans

→ Sotho: France

→ Swahili: Ufaransa

→ Tokelauan: Falani

From Middle English France, from Old French France, from Latin Francia, from Francī, the name of a Germanic tribe, of unclear (but Proto-Germanic) origin. Believed to be most likely from Frankish *Frankō (“a Frank”), from Proto-Germanic *frankô (“javelin”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *preng- (“pole, stalk”). Compare Frank. Displaced native Old English Francland (see modern Frankland).

der

For a long time the dormouse and polecat had seemed to him overfeeble enemies for his restless valour, even as the granary floor seemed to afford too narrow a field. Every day he read the papers of the previous day in the servants' hall of the houses he visited, and it appeared to him that this war in America, which was hailed as the awakening of the spirit of liberty and justice in the New World, ought to produce a revolution in France.

1837, George Sand, translated by Stanley Young, Mauprat, Cassandra Editions, published 1977, →ISBN, page 237:

Although scholars have offered different chronologies and causalities for the move toward modernity, most have resolved the paradox of the two Frances by placing them in sequence: "diverse France gave way over time as modern centralized France gathered force."

1998, Shanny Peer, France on Display: Peasants, Provincials, and Folklore, →ISBN, page 2:

Hollande told cheering supporters in his rural fiefdom of Corrèze in south-west France that he was best-placed to lead France towards change, saying the vote marked a "rejection" of Sarkozy and a "sanction" against his five years in office.

2012 April 23, Angelique Chrisafis, “François Hollande on top but far right scores record result in French election”, in The Guardian:

A country located primarily in Western Europe. Official name: French Republic. Capital and largest city: Paris.

La1ere of June 6, 2018 published a report containing the official discourse […] on the use of mules and swallowers to smuggle cocaine from French Guiana to France.

2020 October 3, Daurius Figueira, Transnational Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking in the Second Decade of the 21st Century […] , AHTLE FIGUEIRA, →ISBN, page 259:

[…] the film Mercenary / Mercenaire, a film made somewhat unique among French immigrant narratives for focusing on the experiences of Pacific Islanders making their way from French Polynesia to France.

2022 June 8, Ruxandra Trandafoiu, Border Crossings and Mobilities on Screen, Routledge, →ISBN:

In particular, metropolitan France, the part of France which is in Europe.


New Zealand

desc

نِيُوزِيلَانْدَا

نِيُوزِيلَنْدَا

نِيُوزِيلَانْدَة

نِيُوزِيلَنْدَة

→ Arabic: نِيُوزِيلَانْدَا (niyūzīlāndā), نِيُوزِيلَنْدَا (niyūzīlandā), نِيُوزِيلَانْدَة (niyūzīlānda), نِيُوزِيلَنْدَة (niyūzīlanda)

নিউজিল্যান্ড

→ Bengali: নিউজিল্যান্ড (niujilênḍ)

→ Chinese: 紐西蘭 /纽西兰 (Niǔxīlán)

→ Danish: New Zealand

→ Fijian: Niusiladi

Νέα Ζηλανδία

→ Greek: Νέα Ζηλανδία (Néa Zilandía)

→ Hawaiian: Nukilani

נְיוּ זִילַנְדּ

→ Hebrew: נְיוּ זִילַנְדּ (nyú zíland)

→ Hebrew: נְיוּ זִילַנְדּ (nyú zíland)

→ Hindi: न्यू ज़ीलंड (nyū zīlaṇḍ), न्यूज़ीलैंड (nyūzīlaiṇḍ), न्यूज़ीलैण् (nyūzīlaiṇ)

→ Japanese: ニュージーランド (Nyū Jīrando)

→ Korean: 뉴질랜드 (nyujillaendeu)

→ Maori: Niu Tireni

→ Niuean: Niu Sila

→ Norwegian Bokmål: New Zealand

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: New Zealand

→ Pashto: نيوزيلنډ (nyuzelanḍ)

→ Persian: نِیوزیلَنْد (niyuziland)

→ Rarotongan: Nū Tireni

→ Samoan: Niu Sila

→ Swahili: Nyuzilandi

→ Thai: นิวซีแลนด์ (niu-sii-lɛɛn)

→ Tokelauan: Niu Hila

→ Tongan: Nuʻusila, Nuʻu Sila

نْیُوزی لَینْڈ

نْیُوزیلَینْڈ

→ Urdu: نْیُوزی لَینْڈ (nyūzī lainḍ), نْیُوزیلَینْڈ (nyūzī-lainḍ)

→ Yiddish: ניו־זילאַנד (nyu-ziland)

Calque of Dutch Nieuw-Zeeland (“new Zeeland”), (nieuw calqued as new), Zeeland calqued as the respelling Zealand to parallel the historical exonym, after the Dutch settlement in Batavia, which in turn had been named after the Dutch province of Zeeland, from Middle Dutch Sêelant, equivalent to zee (“sea”) + land (“land”).

cal

After two pylonless months, July's pylon comes all the way from the hills outside Wellington, New Zealand.

2023 July 8, “Pylon of the Month - July 2023”, in Pylon of the Month:

A country and archipelago of Oceania, to the east of Australia. Official name: New Zealand. Capital: Wellington.

乳国

にゅうこく、nyū koku


Israel

en-prop

Israel (countable and uncountable, plural Israels)

Israels (plural)
Isr. (alternative)
Isreal (alternative)
Yisrael (alternative)
Israhel (alternative)

→ Japanese: イスラエル (Isuraeru)

From Middle English Israel, from Old English, borrowed from Latin Israel, from Ancient Greek Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl), from Hebrew יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra'él, “Israel”). In the Bible, it is said to be from the name יִשְׂרֶה אֵל (yisré 'él) given to Jacob in he:T:29, after which his descendants came to be known as Israelites and their land as the "kingdom/land of Israel". The personal name, already attested in Eblaite 𒅖𒊏𒅋 (iš-ra-il) and Ugaritic 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (yšrỉl), has been variously translated as "he wrestles with God", "he prevails with God", or "God rules" (possibly from the same root ש־ר־ה/ש־ר־ר as שָׂרָה (“Sarah”)).
Line 27 of the Merneptah Stele (from about 1200 B.C.E.) is thought to contain the earliest attestation of the name Israel in any language, Egyptian ysrjꜣr.
: i-i-z:Z1s*Z1s:r-i-A-r:Z1*T14-A1*B1:Z2
Doublet of Yisroel.

Representative Nancy Pelosi, our California congresswoman, has affirmed that the United States stands “unwaveringly” by Israel as it conducts its defense[…]

2023 October 18, “We’re anti-Zionist Jews and we see genocide unfolding in Gaza”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Official name: State of Israel.


Estonia

Estonias (plural)
Esthonia (alternative dated)

→ Japanese: エストニア (Esutonia)

Borrowed from Medieval Latin Estonia. Other early Latin forms were Estia and Hestia, possibly derived from the tribal name Aestiī described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania (ca. 98 AD). Displaced Middle English Ēstland, from Old English Ēstland. Compare also Old Norse Æistland, Icelandic Eistland, German Estland (“Estonia”).

“In the late 1930s, the Western democracies hesitated in the face of danger,” Prime Minister Siim Kallas of Estonia, a former Soviet republic, told me. “As a consequence, we fell under dictatorships and many people lost their lives. Action is sometimes necessary.”

2010, George W. Bush, Decision Points, New York: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 233:

Republic of Estonia
Republic of Estonia#English

A country in northeastern Europe, on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea. Official name: Republic of Estonia.


Latvia

⇒? Japanese: ラトビア (Ratobia)

In early July, I returned to Europe for the G-7 summit in Naples. On the way, I stopped in Riga, Latvia, to meet with the leaders of the Baltic states and celebrate the withdrawal of Russian troops from Lithuania and Latvia, a move we had helped to speed up by providing a large number of housing vouchers for Russian officers who wanted to go home.

2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 185:

Republic of Latvia
Republic of Latvia#English

A country in northeastern Europe. Official name: Republic of Latvia.


Lithuania

From Medieval Latin Līthuānia f, from Proto-Slavic *Litъva f, from Old Lithuanian Lietuva f; compare the Early Modern synonym Lettow (from Middle English Lettowe).
It has been speculated that the name comes from the rivulet Lietauka, although archeological evidence does not corroborate this hypothesis.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned the sanctions, saying they amounted to "irrational retaliation" by China.
"Taiwan vows to continue to do its best to assist Lithuania to counter the unreasonable and arbitrary suppression of the Chinese government," the ministry said in a statement.

2022 August 13, Yew Lun Tian, Augustas Stankevicius, Ben Blanchard, “China sanctions Lithuanian deputy minister for Taiwan visit”, in Mark Heinrich, Paul Simao, William Mallard, editors, Reuters, archived from the original on 2022-08-13, World:

Republic of Lithuania
Republic of Lithuania#English

A country in northeastern Europe. Official name: Republic of Lithuania.


Norway

→ Japanese: ノルウェー (Noruwē)

From Middle English Norwey, Norweye, Northwey, Norweȝe, Norewæiȝ, Norwæge, from Old English Norþweġ, a calque of Old Norse Norðvegr (“north way”), from norðr (“north”) + vegr (“way”), contrasted with suðrvegr (“south way”), i.e. Germany, and austrvegr (“east way”), the Baltic lands. Norwegian (1607) is from Medieval Latin Norvegia, with the -w- from Norway. Equivalent to North + way.

Norroway (alternative archaic)
Norwey (alternative obsolete)

Kramer said California’s legislation is weak compared to the laws in Norway and other European countries, which require a certain percentage of women on boards.

2018 September 30, Julia Carpenter and Jackie Wattles, “California has a new law: No more all-male boards”, in CNN Business:

Kingdom of Norway
Kingdom of Norway#English

A country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe. Official name: Kingdom of Norway.


Sweden

→ Bengali: সুইডেন (śuiḍen)

→ Cantonese: 瑞典 (seoi⁶ din²)

→ Mandarin: 瑞典 (Ruìdiǎn)

→ Hakka: 瑞典 (Shuì-tién)

→ Korean: 서전 (Seojeon)

→ Vietnamese: Thụy Điển

→ Cornish: Sweden

→ Hindi: स्वीडन (svīḍan)

→ Hokkien: 瑞典 (Sūi-tián)

→ Mandarin: 瑞典 (Ruìdiǎn)

→ Japanese: スウェーデン (Suwēden)

→ Korean: 스웨덴 (Seuweden)

→ Marathi: स्वीडन (svīḍan)

→ Telugu: స్వీడన్ (svīḍan)

→ Welsh: Sweden

Borrowed from Scots Swethin, Swadne (also Swaden), from Middle Dutch Sweden, dative of Swede. Originally used to refer to the people before the late 1600s, later displaced native Old English Swēoland (literally “Swede land”), Swēoþēod (literally “Swede nation”), and Swēorīċe (literally “Swede kingdom”) to refer to the country.

ncog

People often mix up Sweden and Switzerland

Kingdom of Sweden
Kingdom of Sweden#English

A country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe. Official name: Kingdom of Sweden.


Finland

en-prop

Finland (usually uncountable, plural Finlands)

→ Japanese: フィンランド (Finrando)

Ultimately, from Old Norse Finnland, equivalent to Finn + -land. Compare Old English Finna land (“Lapland”, literally “land of the Sami”).

cog

And so far just two member states, Malta and Finland, are on track to meet their resettling obligations.

Republic of Finland
Republic of Finland#English

A Nordic country having borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia in Europe. Official name: Republic of Finland.


Morocco

→ Japanese: モロッコ (Morokko)

Earlier spelling Marocco, from Portuguese Marrocos and/or Spanish Marruecos, from Arabic مُرَّاكُش (murrākuš), from Berber ⴰⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ (amur n akuc, literally “Land of God”). The word originally referred to the capital city of Marrakech (founded late 11th c.), but came to be used as a pars pro toto for the westernmost region of the Islamic world. Compare older Arabic مُرَّاكُش (murrākuš) (now اَلْمَغْرِب (al-maḡrib)), Persian مراکش (marâkeš), Medieval Latin Marrochium. Turkish refers to the country as Fas from Fez, another former capital. Doublet of Marrakech.

Jonathan Hill, professor of international relations in the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, points to ongoing social unrest among rural youths in Morocco as another key reason why the law was passed. He cites the 2011 Arab Spring as an indicator of where such behaviour might lead if left unchecked.

2018 October 26, Chris Fitch, “Reintroduction of military conscription in Morocco”, in Geographical, archived from the original on 2021-02-27:

Kingdom of Morocco
Kingdom of Morocco#English

A country in North Africa. Official name: Kingdom of Morocco. Capital: Rabat.

Eʼeʼaahjí Ghą́ą́ʼaskʼidii Biłikahii Bikéyah


Algeria

→ Japanese: アルジェリア (Arujeria)

/ælˈdʒɪəɹiə/

From Alger + -ia, modified based on French Algérie, from the French Alger (“Algiers”) + -ie, from Algerian Arabic الدزَاير (ed-dzayer), from Arabic اَلْجَزَائِر (al-jazāʔir, “the islands”) (with elision of the first vowel), plural of جَزِيرَة (jazīra, “island”), referring to the several small islands that once existed in the Bay of Algiers. Doublet of Algiers and Algeciras.

der

اَلْجَزَائِر

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria#English

A country in North Africa. Official name: People's Democratic Republic of Algeria. Capital and largest city: Algiers.

(historical) Ottoman Algeria, also the regency of Algiers or al-Jazā’ir in Arabic, from 1515 to 1830

(historical) French or Colonial Algeria, from 1830 to 1962

People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, since 1962


Tunisia

A country in North Africa. Capital: Tunis.

Ottoman Tunisia; the Eyalet of Tunis, from 1534 to 1881

French protectorate of Tunisia, from 1881 to 1956


Libya

→ Korean: 리비아 (Ribia)

Via Latin Libya, from Ancient Greek Λιβύη (Libúē). English since the 16th century.

He is one of the tens of thousands of Chadians who fled last year’s fighting in Libya and are now back in their homeland.

2012 April 18, David McKenzie, “Chad’s migrant workers pay price for Libya conflict”, in CNN:

A country in North Africa. Capital: Tripoli.


Egypt

→ Burmese: အီဂျစ် (igyac)

→ Chinese: 埃及 (Āijí)

→ Korean: 애굽 (Aegup)

→ Vietnamese: Ai Cập

→ Cornish: Ejyp

→ Gujarati: ઇજિપ્ત (ijipt)

→ Hindi: इजिप्ट (ijipṭ), इजिप्त (ijipt)

→ Iban: Ejip

→ Japanese: エジプト (Ejiputo)

→ Kannada: ಈಜಿಪ್ಟ್ (ījipṭ)

→ Korean: 이집트 (Ijipteu)

→ Malayalam: ഈജിപ്റ്റ് (ījipṟṟ)

→ Maori: Īhipa

→ Marathi: इजिप्त (ijipta)

→ Navajo: Ííjip

→ Nepali: इजिप्ट (ijipṭa)

→ Odia: ଇଜିପ୍ଟ (ijipṭa)

→ Paiwan: Idjiputu

→ Thai: อียิปต์ (ii-yìp)

From Middle English Egipt, from Middle French Egypte, from Latin Aegyptus, from Ancient Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aíguptos) (see also the Mycenaean Greek ethnonym 𐁁𐀓𐀠𐀴𐀍 (a3-ku-pi-ti-jo, “Egyptian”)), from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ (“Egypt; Memphis; the temple of Ptah in Memphis”, literally “The temple of the ka of Ptah”), whose Late Egyptian pronunciation is reflected by Akkadian 𒄭𒆪𒌒𒋫𒀪 (ḫikuptaḫ).

Ægypt (alternative archaic)
Ægipt (alternative obsolete)
Aegipt (alternative obsolete)
Egipt (alternative obsolete)
Egipte (alternative obsolete)

Arab Republic of Egypt
Arab Republic of Egypt#English

A country in North Africa and Western Asia. Official name: Arab Republic of Egypt. Capital: Cairo.


South Africa

/ˌsaʊθ ˈæf.ɹɪ.kə/

[sɑɤ̯ˈθɛ̞frɘkə]

From Union of South Africa, the country's former official name, referring to its origin from the unification of four formerly separate British colonies.

The facts show that the genocide President Donald Trump suggests might be happening is not happening – and that crime against White farmers in South Africa represents a tiny fraction of the country’s overall crime.

2025 May 21, Daniel Dale, “Fact check: Trump’s false suggestion of a ‘genocide’ against White farmers in South Africa”, in CNN:

Republic of South Africa
Republic of South Africa#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of South Africa. Capitals: Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein.

Kéyah Naakai Łizhinii Bikéyah Shádiʼááhjí Siʼánígíí


Poland

→ Japanese: ポーランド (Pōrando)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂-der.
Proto-Slavic *poľe
Proto-Slavic *-janъ
Proto-Indo-European *-nós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos
Proto-Slavic *-inъ
Proto-Slavic *-janinъ
Proto-Slavic *poľaninъder.
German Polebor.
English Pole
Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-om
Proto-Germanic *landą
Proto-West Germanic *land
Old English land
Middle English lond
English land
English Poland
1560s. From Pole + land, a phono-semantic matching of German Polen (“Poland”), from Old Polish Polanie (“Poles”, literally “field dwellers”), from Proto-Slavic *poľane, plural of *poľaninъ (“field dweller”), from *poľe (“field”) + *-ěninъ, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat, wide”).

der

After leaving the Soviet Union, we made a brief visit to one of the captive nations — Poland.[...]A quarter of a million people turned out that Sunday. Despite the presence of Soviet troops, and the fact that they share a common border with the Soviet Union, on that Sunday the people of Poland demonstrated dramatically not only their friendship for the United States but also their detestation of their Communist rulers and Soviet neighbors.

1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 213:

The next stop was Warsaw, to meet with President Lech Walesa and emphasize my commitment to bringing Poland into NATO. Walesa had become a hero, and free Poland's natural choice for president, by leading the Gdansk-shipyard workers' revolt against communism more than a decade earlier. He was deeply suspicious of Russia and wanted Poland in NATO as soon as possible. He also wanted more American investment in Poland, saying the country's future required more American generals, "starting with General Motors and General Electric."

2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 185–186:

Hungary, Austria and Poland are still refusing to participate in the resettlement plan, due to end in September. Other Eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia, are only doing so on a limited basis, the commission said.

2017 March 2, Eliza Mackintosh, “No more excuses on resettling refugees, European Commission warns”, in CNN:

Republic of Poland
Republic of Poland#English

A country in Central Europe. Official name: Republic of Poland. Capital and largest city: Warsaw.


Austria

→ Japanese: オーストリア (Ōsutoria)

From Latin Austria, a Latinization of Old High German Ōstarrīhhi, the first element of which means "east" and stems from Proto-Germanic *austraz (“eastern”), and the second element of which is rīhhi (“realm”). See east, eastern for more.
Distantly cognate to Australia: it derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root, but via Latin, where it came to mean “south” rather than “east”. Compare also Austrasia.

Republic of Austria
Republic of Austria#English

A country in Central Europe. Official name: Republic of Austria. Capital and largest city: Vienna.


Iceland

→ Japanese: アイスランド (Aisurando)

From Middle English Iseland, Island, Islond, Yslond, a calque of Old Norse Ísland, equivalent to ice + land.

North Atlantic Ocean
North Atlantic Ocean#English

An island and country in the North Atlantic Ocean in Europe.


Malaysia

→ Japanese: マレーシア (Marēshia)

→ Hungarian: Malajzia

desctree

→ Malay: Malaysia
→ Japanese: マライシア (Maraishia) (obsolete)

→ Latvian: Malaizija

→ Lithuanian: Malaizija

→ Serbo-Croatian: Màlēzija

→ Slovak: Malajzia

→ Slovene: Malẹ́zija

/mɐˈleɪ̯.ʃɐ/

Etymology tree
Malay Melayuder.
English Malay
English Malays
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Ancient Greek -ίᾱ (-íā)der.
Ancient Greek -εύς (-eús)?
Ancient Greek -ιᾰ (-iă)
Ancient Greek -εια (-eia)der.
Latin -iader.
English -ia
English Malaysia
From Malays + -ia, amended from the previous form, Malaya. The ⟨-s⟩ was added to honour the inclusion of Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (Sabah) with Malaya in the formation of The Federation of Malaysia.

etymon

A country in Southeast Asia. Capital: Kuala Lumpur.


Philippines

See Name of the Philippines in Wikipedia for a complete etymology.
Borrowed from French Philippines, originally from Spanish Filipinas, which was from Felipe (the name of a king of Spain). By surface analysis, Philip + -ine + -s.

Among the frontrunners before the conclave began were Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state; Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines; Péter Erdő, a traditionalist from Hungary; Robert Sarah, a cardinal from Guinea who criticised Francis’s papacy; and the moderate US cardinal Robert Prevost.

2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian:

Republic of the Philippines
Republic of the Philippines#English

A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Republic of the Philippines. Capital: Manila.


Solomon Islands

desc

→ Japanese: ソロモン諸島 (Soromon Shotō) (calque)

King Solomon
Solomon Islands
Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira

After King Solomon, whose mines of immense wealth Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira hoped to find when he named it in 1567 or 1568.

A country consisting of the majority of the Solomon Islands archipelago in Melanesia, in Oceania, as well as the Santa Cruz Islands. Official name: Solomon Islands. Capital and largest city: Honiara.


Andorra

Principality of Andorra
Principality of Andorra#English

Andorra la Vella
Andorra la Vella#English

A microstate in Southern Europe, between Spain and France. Official name: Principality of Andorra. Capital and largest city: Andorra la Vella.


Afghanistan

→? Translingual: AF, AFG

/æfˈɡɑːn.ɪˌstɑːn/

/æfˈɡæn.ɪˌstɑːn/

From Classical Persian اَفْغَانِسْتَان (afġānistān), from اَفْغَان (afġān, “Afghan”) + ـِسْتَان (-istān, “-istan: land of”), equivalent to Afghan + -i- + -stan.

bor

اَفْغَانِسْتَان

Affghanistan (alternative obsolete)
Affghanisthan (alternative obsolete)
Affghaunistan (alternative obsolete)
Afghanisthan (alternative obsolete)
Afghaunistan (alternative obsolete)

Described by witnesses as a keen cricketer and pubgoer until contacts with Islamic militants radicalized him on a trip to Pakistan, he was ordered to serve at least 14 years for the plot, and for supplying militants in Afghanistan with money and equipment.

2008 February 19, John F. Burns, “Britain: Life Sentence in Beheading Plot”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2022-11-26:

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan#English

A landlocked country between Central Asia and South Asia. Official name: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Capital and largest city: Kabul.

Афга́н

in reference to the 1979–1989 Afghan war


Antigua and Barbuda

desc

アンティグア・バーブーダ

→ Japanese: アンティグア・バーブーダ (Antigua Bābūda) (calque)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Soundguys-Antigua and Barbuda.wav

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Antigua and Barbuda.wav

A country consisting of two islands in the Caribbean, Antigua and Barbuda.

اینٹیگوا و باربوڈا

eṇṭīguā o bārbūḍā


Albania

Borrowed from Medieval Latin Albānia, from Byzantine Greek Ἀλβανία (Albanía).

However, word-final unstressed schwa is deleted even by the speakers from South Albania, though to different degrees and dependant on the speech style[…]

2006 April 27, Sylvia Moosmüller, Theodor Granser, “The spread of Standard Albanian: An illustration based on an analysis of vowels”, in Language Variation and Change, volume 18, number 2, Cambridge University Press, →DOI:

Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe#English

Republic of Albania
Republic of Albania#English

A country in Southeast Europe. Official name: Republic of Albania. Capital and largest city: Tirana.


Armenia

From Latin Armenia, from Ancient Greek Ἀρμενία (Armenía) (early 5th century BC), from Old Persian 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴 (a-r-mi-i-n /Armina/) (late 6th century BC); see it for more. The Old Persian name is an exonym: see հայ (hay) for the native name. Attested in English since late 14th century.

In the Caucasian republics, 100,000 Azerbaijanis, 30,000 Georgians, and tens of thousands of Armenians were imprisoned, tortured, or killed under Stalin, with Armenia's prisons so full at some points that basements of government buildings were converted into makeshift jails.

1992, Richard Nixon, “The Former Evil Empire”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 57:

Republic of Armenia
Republic of Armenia#English

A country in the South Caucasus region of Asia, sometimes considered to belong politically to Europe. Official name: Republic of Armenia. Capital: Yerevan.


Angola

→ Gujarati: અંગોલા (aṅgolā)

→ Welsh: Angola

From Portuguese (Reino de) Angola (“(kingdom of) Angola”), from Kimbundu ngola, title held by native kings at the time of the Portuguese colonization in the 15th century AD. Compare Kituba ngolo (“strength”).
The Louisiana State Penitentiary is named "Angola" after the Angola slave plantation it replaced, which was named after the country, from which many enslaved people in Louisiana had been taken.

bor

Republic of Angola
Republic of Angola#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Angola. Capital and largest city: Luanda.

(historical) A former colony of Portugal, Portuguese Angola, also known as Portuguese West Africa and officially the State of West Africa, from 1575 to 1975.

The People's Republic of Angola, from 1975 to 1992


Argentina

/ˌɑː.d͡ʒənˈtiː.nə/

From Latin argentum (“silver”) + the feminine of the adjectival suffix -īnus; in reference to the Río de la Plata ("silver river").

Argentine Republic
Argentine Republic#English

A country in South America. Official name: Argentine Republic. Capital: Buenos Aires.

countries in South AmericaeditArgentinaBoliviaBrazilChileColombiaEcuadorGuyanaParaguayPeruSurinameUruguayVenezuela


Azerbaijan

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish آذربایجان (Azerbaycan), from Classical Persian آذَرْبَایْجَان (āḏarbāyjān, āzarbāyjān), Arabized form of Early Classical Persian آذَرْبَایْگَان (āḏarbāygān, āzarbāygān) / آذَرْبَادْگَان (āḏarbādgān, āzarbādgān), from Middle Persian [script needed] (ʾtwrpʾtkʾn) / [script needed] (ʾtwrpʾtkn /Āturpātakān, Ādurbādagān/), from [script needed] (ʾtwrpʾt' /Āturpāt, Ādurbād/, “Atropates (the Persian nobleman who founded the kingdom of Atropatene)”) [whose name descends from Old Persian *Ātr̥pātah (literally “protected by fire”)] + -kʾn' (whence Classical Persian ـگَان (-gān)).
Compare Old Armenian Ատրպատական (Atrpatakan), Ատրապատական (Atrapatakan), Ատրպայական (Atrpayakan), Armenian Ադրբեջան (Adrbeǰan), Byzantine Greek Ἀδαρβιγάνων (Adarbigánōn), Classical Syriac ܐܕܘܪܒܝܓܐܢ (ʾĀḏōrbêḡān), Coptic ⲁⲇⲟⲩⲣⲃⲁⲇⲁⲅⲁⲛ (adourbadagan).

der

آذَرْبَایْجَان

m+

آذَرْبَایْگَان

cog

ⲁⲇⲟⲩⲣⲃⲁⲇⲁⲅⲁⲛ

Azarbaijan (alternative)
Azarbayjan (alternative)
Adharbaijan (alternative)
Adharbayjan (alternative)
Azerbaidzhan (alternative)
Azerbaydzhan (alternative)
Adherbeijan (alternative obsolete)
Adherbijan (alternative obsolete)
Azerbeijan (alternative obsolete)
Azerbeyjan (alternative obsolete)
Azerbijan (alternative obsolete)

Republic of Azerbaijan
Republic of Azerbaijan#English

[from 20th c.] A country in the South Caucasus in Asia and Europe. Official name: Republic of Azerbaijan. Capital: Baku.


Bangladesh

→ Japanese: バングラデシュ (Banguradeshu)

/ˌbæŋ.ɡləˈdɛʃ/

/ˌbɑːŋ.ɡləˈdɛʃ/

/ˌbæŋ.ləˈdɛʃ/

/ˌbɑːŋ.ləˈdɛʃ/

From Bengali বাংলাদেশ (baṅladeś), from বাংলা (baṅla, “Bengali”) + দেশ (deś, “country”).

People's Republic of Bangladesh
People's Republic of Bangladesh#English

A country in South Asia. Official name: People's Republic of Bangladesh. Capital: Dhaka.

बांग्लादेश गणतन्त्र m, गणतन्त्र बांग्लादेश m, गणप्रजातन्त्र बांग्लादेश m, गणप्रजातन्त्री बांग्लादेश m)


Bulgaria

/bʌlˈɡɛə.ɹi.ə/

/bʊlˈɡɐɹ.jɐ/

From Medieval Latin Bulgaria, equivalent to Bulgar + -ia, in English used from the 16th century.

Republic of Bulgaria
Republic of Bulgaria#English

A country in Southeast Europe. Official name: Republic of Bulgaria. Capital and largest city: Sofia.


Bahrain

Borrowed from Arabic الْبَحْرَيْن (al-baḥrayn, literally “the two seas”).

bor

الْبَحْرَيْن

Bahrein (alternative)
Bahrayn (alternative)

Kingdom of Bahrain
Kingdom of Bahrain#English

An archipelago, island, and country in Western Asia, in the Persian Gulf. Official name: Kingdom of Bahrain. Capital: Manama.


Burundi

Former name: Urundi

Republic of Burundi
Republic of Burundi#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Burundi.


Bolivia

Bolivia
Bolivia, North Carolina
Simón Bolívar

Borrowed from Spanish and New Latin Bolivia (“land of Bolivar”), from the South American revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar + -ia (forming placenames), from the Spanish surname Bolívar, from Basque Bolibar, a village in Álava, Basque Country, Spain, from Basque bolu (“windmill”) + ibar (“valley”).

Plurinational State of Bolivia
Plurinational State of Bolivia#English

A country in South America. Official name: Plurinational State of Bolivia. Capitals: La Paz and Sucre.


Brazil

From Portuguese Brazil, older spelling of Brasil, from brasil (“brazilwood”), originally ‘red like an ember’, from brasa (“ember”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *brasō (“gleed, crackling coal”), and -il (“-ile, -like, -y”) from Latin -īlis (“adjective suffix”).

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In February, a young man from an isolated Indigenous tribe in Brazil made brief contact with the outside world before returning to the Amazon rainforest.

2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN:

Federative Republic of Brazil
Federative Republic of Brazil#English

A large Portuguese-speaking country in South America. Official name: Federative Republic of Brazil. Capital: Brasília.


Bahamas

the Bahamas (canonical)
The Bahamas (alternative)

Disputed; probably from Spanish baja mar (“shallow sea”) or Taíno ba ha ma (“big upper middle land”), via Spanish.

Commonwealth of The Bahamas
Commonwealth of The Bahamas#English

An archipelago and country in the Caribbean. Official name: Commonwealth of The Bahamas.


Bhutan

→ Albanian: Bhutan

→ Arabic: بُوتَان (būtān)

desc

→ Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܒܗܘܼܛܵܢ (bhūṭān)

→ Burmese: ဘူတန် (bhutan)

→ Chinese:

Cantonese: 不丹 (bat1 daan1)

Mandarin: 不丹 (Bùdān)

→ Danish: Bhutan

→ Dhivehi: ބޫޓާން (būṭān̊)

→ Dutch: Bhutan

→ Esperanto: Butano

→ Estonian: Bhutan

→ Faroese: Butan

→ Finnish: Bhutan

→ German: Bhutan

→ Greek: Μπουτάν (Boután)

→ Gujarati: ભૂતાન (bhūtān)

→ Hausa: Butan, Bhutan

→ Hebrew: בְּהוּטָן

→ Hebrew: בְּהוּטָן

→ Interlingua: Bhutan

→ Irish: An Bhútáin

→ Icelandic: Bútan

→ Italian: Bhutan

→ Japanese: ブータン (Būtan)

→ Kalenjin: Butani

→ Kamba: Butani

→ Kannada: ಭೂತಾನ್ (bhūtān)

→ Kikuyu: Butan

→ Korean: 부탄 (Butan)

→ Northern Kurdish: Bûtan

→ Lao: ພູຖານ (phū thān)

→ Luhya: Butani

→ Malay: Bhutan

→ Malayalam: ഭൂട്ടാൻ (bhūṭṭāṉ)

→ Maltese: il-Butan

→ Manx: Yn Vootaan

→ Maori: Putāna, Purutāna

→ Meru: Butan

→ Mongolian:

Cyrillic script: Бутан (Butan)

→ Norman: Bhutan

→ Norwegian:

Norwegian Bokmål: Bhutan

Norwegian Nynorsk: Bhutan

→ Pashto: بوټان (buṭān)

→ Persian: بوتان (butân)

→ Polish: Bhutan

→ Portuguese: Butão

→ Romanian: Bhutan

→ Punjabi: ਭੂਟਾਨ (bhūṭān)

→ Polish: Bhutan

→ Russian: Бута́н (Bután)

→ Bashkir: Бутан (Butan)

→ Belarusian: Бута́н (Bután)

→ Bulgarian: Бута́н (Bután)

→ Crimean Tatar: Butan

→ Georgian: ბჰუტანი (bhuṭani)

→ Kazakh: Бутан (Butan)

→ Kyrgyz: Бутан (Butan)

→ Latvian: Butāna

→ Lithuanian: Butanas

→ Macedonian: Бутан (Butan)

→ Tajik: Бутан (Butan)

→ Turkmen: Butan

→ Tatar: Бутан (Butan)

→ Ukrainian: Бута́н (Bután)

→ Serbo-Croatian:

Cyrillic script: Бу̀та̄н

Latin script: Bùtān

→ Sindhi: ڀوٽان

→ Sinhalese: භූතානය (bhūtānaya)

→ Slovak: Bhután

→ Spanish: Bután

→ Galician: Bután

→ Swahili: Butani

→ Swedish: Bhutan

→ Tamil: பூட்டான் (pūṭṭāṉ)

→ Tamil: பூட்டான் (pūṭṭāṉ)

→ Telugu: భూటాన్ (bhūṭān)

→ Thai: ภูฏาน (puu-dtaan)

→ Urdu: بھوٹان (bhūṭān)

→ Urdu: بھوٹان (bhūṭān)

→ Uyghur: بۇتان (butan)

→ Uzbek: Butan

→ Vietnamese: Bu-tan

→ Volapük: Butän

→ Swedish: Bhutan

→ Turkish: Bhutan

→ Welsh: Bhwtan

→ Yiddish: בוטאַן (butan)

→ Yoruba: Bútánì

Borrowed from French Bhoutan, from Nepali भुटान (bhuṭān), from Prakrit 𑀪𑁄𑀝𑁆𑀝𑀁𑀢 (bhŏṭṭaṃta, “Tibet”, literally “end of Tibet”); probably ultimately from Tibetan བོད (bod, “Tibet”) + Sanskrit अन्त (anta, “end”). Traditionally considered to be derived via Sanskrit भोटान्त (bhoṭānta), but that word is probably a Prakritism.

der

Most foreigners who have heard of Bhutan know two things: the country charges international visitors a $100/day sustainable development fee (aka tourist tax), and that it is the birthplace of the Gross National Happiness Index, a system intended to look after the well-being of citizens and the environment.

2024 July 4, Lilit Marcus, “This country has a national happiness index. But what is it really like to live there?”, in CNN:

Kingdom of Bhutan
Kingdom of Bhutan#English

A country in South Asia, in the Himalayas. Official name: Kingdom of Bhutan. Capital: Thimphu.


Botswana

Borrowed from Tswana Botswana, from bo- + Tswana,
of uncertain origin.

A country in Southern Africa. Capital: Gaborone.

Bechuanaland, fully the Bechuanaland Protectorate, a colony of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1966

After independence, Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe, Nyasaland to Malawi, and Bechuanaland to Botswana.

2018 April 20, Bard Wilkinson, “Absolute monarch renames Swaziland ‘eSwatini’”, in CNN:

According to Masisi, Botswana has seen its elephant population grow to some 130,000.

2024 April 3, Nadine Schmidt, Sarah Dean and Ingrid Formanek, “Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany in trophy hunting dispute”, in CNN:


Belize

The origin of the name Belize is debated and marked by various theories. One contested hypothesis suggests a derivation from Peter Wallace, a Scottish corsair whose name may have evolved into Belize through Spanish pronunciation, though modern scholars dismiss this as a colonial myth. Another possibility points to a Maya origin, from the word balix or belix, meaning "muddy waters," likely referring to the Belize River. Early 18th-century cartographic records show variations such as Balesia and Belleze. Another Maya theory links the name to the phrase Bel Itza, meaning "road to Itzá," possibly referring to the Maya kingdom of Petén Itzá in present-day Guatemala.

An English-speaking country in Central America, formerly called British Honduras.


Canada

en-prop

Canada (countable and uncountable, plural Canadas)

French: canadair

Greek: καναντέρ (kanantér)

Italian: canadair

Japanese: カナダ

Serbo-Croatian: kanader

Borrowed from French Canada, from the Laurentian kanata (“village, settlement”) (compare Onondaga ganataa), ultimately from Proto-North Iroquoian *-nat-. See also "Name of Canada" on English Wikipedia.

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Father narrated the story of how Canada developed over a short period to surpass other countries, including Britain, from which it had emerged.

2015, Chigozie Obioma, The Fishermen, ONE, page 219:

Fafo works with small trading nations such as Colombia because US markets could quickly adapt to the greater expense of its coffee, flowers and other exports. There will be a different order of chaos, though, if Trump follows through on tariffs on the EU (17 per cent of US imports), Mexico (15 per cent), China (14 per cent) or Canada (12 per cent).

2025 January 27, David Charter, “Fafo diplomacy: How Colombia found out Trump meant business”, in The Times, archived from the original on 2025-01-27:

A country in North America. Capital: Ottawa. Largest city: Toronto.


Switzerland

Compound of Switzer + -land, adopted in the 16th century from Early Modern German Schwytzerland (“land of the Swiss”). Noun sense refers to the state’s political neutrality in both World Wars.

Much of Switzerland is located in the Alps.

“There is strong evidence that 76 known or potential breast carcinogens from food contact materials recently purchased all over the world can be found in people,” said study coauthor Jane Muncke, managing director and chief scientific officer at the Food Packaging Forum, a nonprofit foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, that focuses on science communication and research.

2024 September 24, Sandee LaMotte, “Chemicals linked to breast cancer leach into our foods, study finds”, in CNN:

Swiss Confederation
Swiss Confederation#English

A country in Western Europe and Central Europe. Official name: Swiss Confederation. Capital: Bern (de facto).


Chile

Borrowed from Spanish Chile, probably from Quechua chiri (“cold”).

Republic of Chile
Republic of Chile#English

A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Chile. Capital and largest city: Santiago.


Cameroon

Fernão do Pó
Lepidophthalmus turneranus
Wouri River

Borrowed from French Cameroun, from Portuguese Rio dos Camarões (“river of prawns”), a name given to the Wouri river estuary, in 1472 by the sailors of the Portuguese explorer Fernão do Pó (a.k.a. Fernando Pó), raving about the abundance of shrimps of the species Lepidophthalmus turneranus (the Cameroon ghost shrimp) in the river; camarão itself is from Latin cammarus (“lobster”), from Ancient Greek κάμμαρος (kámmaros, “a kind of lobster or shrimp”).

Security officials say such a move makes it easy for Boko Haram to infiltrate Cameroon and gather vital security information.

2015 March 3, Ngala Killian Chimtom, “Cameroon in for long fight as its youth join Boko Haram”, in CNN:

Republic of Cameroon
w:Republic of Cameroon

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Cameroon. Capital: Yaoundé. It also claims Ambazonia.


China

en-prop

China (usually uncountable, plural Chinas)

Chinas (plural)
Chin (alternative obsolete)
Chyna (alternative)

→ Amharic: ቻይና (čayna)

→ Chinese: 猜拿 (Cāiná)

→ Hindi: चाइना (cāinā)

→ Maori: Haina

→ Telugu: చైనా (cainā)

→ Tigre: ቻይና (čayna)

→ Tigrinya: ቻይና (čayna)

→ Tokelauan: Haina

→ Welsh: Tsieina

→ Yoruba: Ṣáínà

[ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]

China (disambiguation)
Colóquios dos simples e drogas da India
Duarte Barbosa
Garcia de Orta
Marco Polo
The Travels of Marco Polo
states of ancient China

From Portuguese China, from possibly Venetan Cina probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn) under influence from Medieval Latin Sina (“China”), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡ziɪn, oc *zin, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉 /晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡siɪn, oc *ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state; 荊 /荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kˠiæŋ, oc *keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state; or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom. See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.

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'Only a Nixon' Could Go to China

1971 December 6, “A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader”, in US News & World Report, page 61:

2017, Donald J. Trump, speech at Make America Great Again Rally, Harrisburg, PA
And I met with the President of China at great length in Florida, and we had long, long talks—hours and hours and hours.

China is 75 years old as of October 1, 2024

Saturday’s tariffs are unlikely to be Trump’s last. The president said himself said in the Oval Office that additional tariffs could come by mid-February on chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil and gas imports – along with tariffs on the European Union – all threats that few would discount given his willingness to follow through on the North American and China tariffs on Saturday.

2025 February 1, Kevin Liptak, “With stiff tariffs he promised now in place, Trump opens a new trade war”, in CNN:

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

A large country in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers; the People's Republic of China, since 1949.

Чынҭ

country in East Asia — see also Serica, Cathay

Sjina

region corresponding to the People's Republic of China and Taiwan


Colombia

Borrowed from Spanish Colombia, from Italian Colombo (“Cristoforo Colombo”); named after Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus (1451–1506). Equivalent to Colombo + -ia; piecewise doublet of Columbia.

named-after

Republic of Colombia
Republic of Colombia#English

A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Colombia. Capital: Bogotá.


Cuba

→ Japanese: キューバ (Kyūba)

→ Hawaiian: Kupa

Disputed; likely from Taíno cubao (“abundant fertile land”) or coabana (“great place”).

unk

Disputed

A country, the largest island (based on land area) in the Caribbean. Capital and largest city: Havana.


Cape Verde

Partial calque of Portuguese Cabo Verde, from cabo (“cape”) + verde (“green”).

In the Cape Verde Islands, the electoral victory of Movement for Democracy ushered out sixteen years of one-party rule.

1992, Richard Nixon, “The Southern Hemisphere”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 250:

Republic of Cabo Verde
Republic of Cabo Verde#English

An archipelago and country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Cabo Verde.


Cyprus

From Latin Cyprus, from Ancient Greek Κύπρος (Kúpros).

Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe#English

Republic of Cyprus
Republic of Cyprus#English

An island and country in the Mediterranean Sea, normally considered politically part of Southeast Europe but geographically part of Western Asia. Official name: Republic of Cyprus. Capital: Nicosia.


Djibouti

Unknown; the country of Djibouti was named after its capital city. Multiple theories exist as to the origin of the lemma, including derivation from Afar gabouti (“plate”) or gabood (“plateau”).

Republic of Djibouti
Republic of Djibouti#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Djibouti.


Denmark

→ Japanese: デンマーク (Denmāku)

→ Korean: 덴마크 (Denmakeu)

→ Malay: Denmark

Indonesian: Denmark

From Middle English Denmark, from Danish Danmark, from dansk (“Danish”) + Old Norse merki (“boundary”) or mǫrk (“borderland”). Cognate with (and perhaps influenced by) Old English Denemearc.

something is rotten in the state of Denmark

A country in Northern Europe. Capital and largest city: Copenhagen; the metropole of the sovereign nation of the same name.


Dominican Republic

Calque of Spanish República Dominicana, in honor of santo (“holy; saint”) Domingo, which could refer to a Sunday, Jesus, or St Dominic.

A country in the Caribbean. Capital: Santo Domingo.

(a correct translation) Repubblica Dominicana f


Ecuador

From Spanish Ecuador, itself from ecuador (“equator”).

Republic of Ecuador
Republic of Ecuador#English

A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Ecuador. Capital: Quito.


Spain

→ Burmese: စပိန် (ca.pin)

→ Hindustani:

Hindi: स्पेन (spen)

→ Japanese: スペイン (Supein)

→ Korean: 스페인 (seupein)

→ Marathi: स्पेन (spen)

→ Thai: สเปน (sà-bpeen)

Etymology tree
Latin Hispānia
Old French Espaignebor.
Middle English Spayne
English Spain
From Middle English Spayne, from Anglo-Norman Espayne, from Late Latin Spania, from earlier Latin Hispānia. Displaced Old English Ispania, which was borrowed directly from Latin. Doublet of Hispania.

etymon

The mountains of Spain consist of parallel ranges, running from east to west[…]

1865, James Stuart Laurie, editor, Manual of Elementary Geography, page 40:

Spain fought with France constantly from 1494 through the 1540s, especially over Italy.

1999, Stephen P. Reyna, "The Force of Two Logics", in S. P. Reyna & R. E. Downs (editors), Deadly Developments: Capitalism, states and war (War and Scoiety, volume 5), page 34

Kingdom of Spain
Kingdom of Spain#English

A country in Southern Europe, including most of the Iberian peninsula. Official name: Kingdom of Spain. Capital and largest city: Madrid.


Ethiopia

→ Gujarati: ઇથિયોપિયા (ithiyopiyā)

→ Hindi: इथियोपिया (ithiyopiyā)

→ Korean: 에티오피아 (etiopia)

→ Navajo: Iithiyópya

→ Yoruba: Ìtíópíà

/ˌiː.θiˈəʊ.pɪ.ə/

From Latin Aethiopia, from Ancient Greek Αἰθιοπία (Aithiopía), from Αἰθίοψ (Aithíops), of Proto-Hellenic origin. Displaced native Old English Siġelhearwena land (literally “land of the sun worshippers”).

ເອທິໂອປີ

ʼē thi ʼō pī

The Ethiopian Empire, from c. 1270 to 1974; Abyssinia.

A country in East Africa.
Italian Ethiopia, from 1936 to 1941.

Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia, from 1974 to 1987; Derg.

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia#English

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, since 1987.

Wheat has been and continues to be one of the most important cereal crops in Ethiopia in terms of both area under cultivation and production.

1991, Tesfaye Tesemma, “Improvement of indigenous durum wheat landraces in Ethiopia” in Plant Genetic Resources of Ethiopia, 288

The death toll from two landslides in a remote region of southern Ethiopia on Monday has risen to 229, according to local authorities.

2024 July 23, Nimi Princewill, Mek Tekeste and Louis Mian, “More than 200 dead in southern Ethiopia landslides”, in CNN:


Gabon

From Portuguese gabão (“cloak”), referring to the Komo estuary.

Gabonese Republic
Gabonese Republic#English

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Gabonese Republic. Capital: Libreville.


Ghana

Named after the Ghana Empire by J. B. Danquah, from Soninke gajanŋa.

Republic of Ghana
Republic of Ghana#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Ghana.


Gambia

Gambia (canonical)
the Gambia (canonical)

→ Japanese: ガンビア (Ganbia)

Republic of The Gambia
Republic of The Gambia#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of The Gambia.


Equatorial Guinea

/ˌɛkwəˈtɔːɹiəl ˈɡɪni/

Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa’s smallest countries, with just over 850,000 residents. Bata is one of the country’s two cities with populations of more than 30,000, the other being the island-based capital Malabo.

2021 March 7, Marlon Sorto, Hira Humayun and Susannah Cullinane, “Equatorial Guinea blasts kill more than 12, injure hundreds”, in CNN:

Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Republic of Equatorial Guinea#English

A country in Central Africa. Official name: Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Capital: Malabo.


Guatemala

/ˌɡwɑː.təˈmɑː.lə/

Borrowed from Spanish Guatemala (originally the name of Iximche, the location of Guatemala's first capital), from Classical Nahuatl Cuauhtēmallān, from cuauhtēmalli (“woodpile”) + -tlān (“place”).

Republic of Guatemala
Republic of Guatemala#English

A country in Central America. Official name: Republic of Guatemala.


Guyana

From an indigenous native American language, probably Cariban or Lokono, said to be a word referring to the land's waters.

Gayana (alternative)
Goyana (alternative)
Guayana (alternative)
Guiana (alternative)

Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Co-operative Republic of Guyana#English

A country in South America. Official name: Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Capital and largest city: Georgetown.


Honduras

Borrowed from Spanish honduras (“depths”, referring to the deep waters off the northern coast).
It may also come from the alleged Columbus quote, "Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas honduras" ("Thank god we have departed from those depths"), said during his fourth and final voyage in 1502.

bor+

In the Atlanta suburb of Lilburn, ICE agents arrested Walter Valladares, a 53-year-old undocumented immigrant from Honduras, according to family members who spoke with CNN.

2025 January 26, Priscilla Alvarez and Rosa Flores, “Trump administration launches nationwide immigration enforcement blitz”, in CNN:

Three children who are US citizens, including a 4-year-old receiving treatment for metastatic cancer, were taken to Honduras with their mothers, who were deported last week, according to the families’ attorneys and civil rights and immigration advocacy organizations.

2025 April 27, Dakin Andone, “3 children who are US citizens — including one with cancer — deported with their mothers, lawyers and advocacy groups say”, in CNN:

Republic of Honduras
Republic of Honduras#English

A country in Central America. Official name: Republic of Honduras. Capital: Tegucigalpa.


Haiti

→ Japanese: ハイチ (Haichi)

From Taíno hayiti (“land of lofty barrows or mountains”), which was the native name given to the whole island of Hispaniola.

bor

Haïti (alternative dated)
Hayti (alternative obsolete)

The first exhibition of 320 Vodou objects from Haiti opens in Taiwan and will run through June 16 at the Museum of World Religions in Yonghe, New Taipei City. Vodou is a religion, made up of influences from many other religions. Prof.Rachel Beauvoir Dominique, a Vodou priestess and a professor of anthropology at the University of Haiti, said Vodou is a way of life and an important part in the day-to-day lives of many Haitians.

2015 April 12, Carlson Wong, “Haitian Vodou exhibition opens in Taiwan”, in Radio Taiwan International, archived from the original on 2023-05-14:

Republic of Haiti
Republic of Haiti#English

A country in the Caribbean. Official name: Republic of Haiti.


Hungary

→ Japanese: ハンガリー (Hangarī)

/ˈhʌŋ.ɡəɹ.i/

From Middle English Hungary, Hungrye, Hungry, from Old English Hungerie from Medieval Latin Hungaria. Doublet of Hungaria.

Hungary, Austria and Poland are still refusing to participate in the resettlement plan, due to end in September. Other Eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia, are only doing so on a limited basis, the commission said.

2017 March 2, Eliza Mackintosh, “No more excuses on resettling refugees, European Commission warns”, in CNN:

A country in Central Europe. Capital and largest city: Budapest.

Мадя́рщина

mostly by Rusyns; proscribed in official use


Indonesia

/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/

/ˌɪndəˈniʒə/

/ˌɪn̪.d̪oˈn̪iː.ʃɐ/

(late nineteenth century) Attested circa 1850, composed of Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indian”) + Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos, “island”); initially, in competition with Insulinde, of the same meaning, lexically constructed on a Latin basis, or in reference to the East Indies archipelago.

af

Republic of Indonesia
Republic of Indonesia#English

A country and archipelago in maritime Southeast Asia. Official name: Republic of Indonesia (since 1950). Capital: Jakarta.


Ireland

en-proper noun

Ireland (usually uncountable, plural Irelands)

→ Japanese: アイルランド (Airurando)

From Middle English Ireland, Irelond, Irlond, Irland, from Old English Īrland. Perhaps also from Middle Irish Éire + -land. Ultimately from Old Irish Ériu (“Ireland”). See Irish.


India

→ Gujarati: ઈન્ડિયા (īnḍiyā)

→ Hawaiian: ʻĪnia, ʻInia

→ Hindi: इंडिया (iṇḍiyā)

→ Bengali: ইন্ডিয়া (inḍiẏa)

→ Japanese: インディア

→ Kannada: ಇಂಡಿಯಾ (iṇḍiyā)

→ Kashmiri: इंडिया (iṃḍiyā)

→ Korean: 인디아 (india)

desc

→ Malayalam: ഇന്ത്യ (intya), ഇന്റ്യ (inṟya), ഇന്ദ്യ (indya)

→ Marathi: इंडिया (iṇḍiyā)

→ Tamil: இந்தியா (intiyā)

→ Telugu: ఇండియా (iṇḍiyā)

→ Yoruba: Íńdíà

Inherited from Old English India, Indea, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía), from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indus river”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš), from Sanskrit सिन्धु (sindhu), ultimately from Proto-Indo-Iranian *síndʰuš (“river”).
Compare Middle English Inde and Ynde from Old French Ynde (original form started to prevail in the 16th century), Classical Persian هند (hind, “India”), Sanskrit सिन्धु (síndhu, “a river, stream”).

cog

The demolition of two mosques in India within days of each other has highlighted the deep religious divide in the country, months before voters head to the polls for a nationwide election that is expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi a rare third term in power.

2024 February 15, Aishwarya S Iyer and Rhea Mogul, “‘Erasing a part of history’ – What a double mosque demolition tells us about India ahead of crucial election”, in CNN:

Republic of India
Republic of India#English

A country in South Asia. Official name: Republic of India. Capital: New Delhi.

Tó Wónaanídę́ę́ʼ Bitsįʼ Yishtłizhii Bikéyah


Iran

From Iranian Persian ایران (irân), from Classical Persian ایران (ērān), from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭 (ʾērān, “of the Aryans”). See 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭 (ʾērān) for word formation, further etymology and cognates. The name of the political entity is a 3rd-century development that derives from the indigenous ethnolinguistic name of the Iranian peoples, i.e. the great variety of Iranian tribes that spoke an Iranian language.

der

Irân (alternative rare)
Irān (alternative rare)
Îrân (alternative rare)
Īrān (alternative rare)

The Persians, in naming their country, make use of one word, which they indifferently pronounce Iroun, and Iran.

ca. 1675, Jean Chardin (Sir John Chardin), Travels in Persia, 1673-1677, fasc. reprint 1988, Dover, page 126

Light was happiness; and the people of Iran, the land of light, were the favourites of heaven; while those of Turan, the gloomy region beyond the mountains to the north, were its enemies.

1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 25:

"Iran is a vast and ancient country in a strategic location in the Middle East. It borders Russia, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf."

2005, Massoume Price, editor, Iran's Diverse Peoples, ABC-Clio, page xiii:

The US President himself accused Iran of being behind the provocation, threatening airstrikes on Iran last week – but calling them off just minutes before they were to begin.

2019 June 26, Frederik Pleitgen and Eliza Mackintosh, “US is ‘not in a position to obliterate Iran,’ Iranian foreign minister says”, in CNN:

Islamic Republic of Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran#English

A country in West Asia, in the Middle East. Official name: Islamic Republic of Iran. Capital: Tehran.


Italy

→ Japanese: イタリー (Itarī) (dated)

→ Thai: อิตาลี (ì-dtaa-lîi)

→ Yoruba: Ítálì

Etymology tree
Oscan 𐌅𐌝𐌕𐌄𐌋𐌉𐌞 (víteliú)bor.?
Ancient Greek Ῑ̓ταλίᾱ (Ītalíā)der.
Latin Italiabor.
Old English Italia
English Italy
From Old English Italia, borrowed from Latin Italia, from Ancient Greek Ῑ̓ταλίᾱ (Ītalíā), possibly borrowed from Oscan 𐌅𐌝𐌕𐌄𐌋𐌉𐌞 (víteliú). Usually explained as a cognate of vitulus (“calf”), thus meaning "land of young bulls" in Oscan. In that case, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wet- (“year”). According to some ancient Greek authors, named after a king Italus or Italos, whose kingdom was on the peninsula.

etymon

Rome is the heart of Italy [...]. She was, is, and must ever be, her capital.

1868, E. S. G. S., Italy and her capital, page 170:

Italy and her invaders

19th century, Thomas Hodgkin, Italy and her invaders, title

Serie A club Inter Milan – whom Eriksen had been contracted to at the time of the incident – let the midfielder move abroad as he was unable to play in Italy unless the ICD device was removed.

2023 January 3, Ben Church, “How Christian Eriksen returned to football after suffering cardiac arrest on pitch”, in CNN:

Italian Republic
Italian Republic#English

Republic of Italy
Republic of Italy#English

A country in Southern Europe. Official names: Italian Republic and Republic of Italy. Capital and largest city: Rome.


Jamaica

→ Japanese: ジャマイカ (Jamaika)

Derived from Taíno Xaymaca (“land of wood and water”), from Taíno maca (“wood”).

der+

Jomayca (alternative)
Jamacia (alternative)

/d͡ʒəˈmæɪ.kə/


Kenya

From the name of Mount Kenya, about which several theories exist, including
* from Kikuyu kere nyaga (“white mountain”) (because it is snow-capped)
* from Kamba kii nyaa (“ostrich mountain”)
* from Kikuyu kĩrĩma (“mountain”)

The object of the builders was to push on to Uganda as quickly as possible; one result was that Kenya was "discovered" on the way.

1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 262:

Republic of Kenya
Republic of Kenya#English

A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Kenya.

Dził Dah Gai Biyaagi Naakaii Łizhiní Bikéyah


Cambodia

→ Japanese: カンボジア (Kanbojia)

→ Korean: 캄보디아 (Kambodia)

From French Cambodge and Portuguese Camboja. Both words are derived from Middle Khmer Kambuja (Modern Khmer កម្ពុជា (kampuciə)). Ultimately from Sanskrit काम्बोज (kāmboja, the name of a tribe mentioned in Hindu scripture). Doublet of Kampuchea and gamboge.

der

Kingdom of Cambodia
Kingdom of Cambodia#English

A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Kingdom of Cambodia. Capital: Phnom Penh. Former name: Kampuchea.


Kiribati

→ Japanese: キリバス (Kiribasu)

From Gilbertese Kiribati, from English Gilberts adapted to Gilbertese phonotactics, a shortening of Gilbert Islands. First entry in the Dictionnaire gilbertin-français of Ernest Sabatier (1954).

Republic of Kiribati
Republic of Kiribati#English

A country consisting mostly of the Gilbert Islands archipelago, located in Micronesia in Oceania. Official name: Republic of Kiribati. Capital and largest city: South Tarawa.


Comoros

Likely borrowed via French Comores. Ultimately from Arabic جَزِيرَة القَمَر (jazīrat al-qamar, “island of the moon”); for more see the etymology of Madagascar.

جَزِيرَة القَمَر

Union of the Comoros
Union of the Comoros#English

A country and group of islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa. Official name: Union of the Comoros.

Comoros, CIA World Fact Book 2004 on Wikisource


Kuwait

From Arabic الْكُوَيْت (al-kuwayt), diminutive of اَلْكُوت (al-kūt).

Koweit (alternative obsolete)
Kuwayt (alternative)

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East. Official name: State of Kuwait. Capital: Kuwait City.


Laos

Borrowed from French Laos, plural of Lao, from Lao ລາວ (lāo, “Lao”). More at Lao.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic#English

A country in Southeast Asia. Official name: Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Capital: Vientiane.


Lebanon

en-proper noun

Lebanon (usually uncountable, plural Lebanons)

→ Japanese: レバノン (Rebanon)

The country's name comes from the name of the mountain range, which in turn comes from Biblical Hebrew לְבָנוֹן (ləḇānôn), from Proto-West Semitic *laban- (“white”) (compare Hebrew לָבָן (lāḇān, “white”), Arabic لَبَن (laban, “milk”)).

"He does a trip from Jiddah up to the Lebanon and now he's extending it as far as Marseilles."

1958, Anthony Burgess, The Enemy in the Blanket (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 382:

Lebanese Republic
Lebanese Republic#English

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East. Official name: Lebanese Republic. Capital: Beirut. Also (especially formerly) known as "the Lebanon".


Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein Castle (Maria Enzersdorf)

From German Liechtenstein, after the name of the ruling dynasty, which in turn derives its name from that of Liechtenstein Castle, which means “bright stone”, from liecht, an obsolete variant of licht (“light, bright”), + Stein (“stone”).

Principality of Liechtenstein
Principality of Liechtenstein#English

A microstate in Central Europe. Official name: Principality of Liechtenstein. Capital: Vaduz.


Liberia

From Latin līber (“free”) + -ia (“place”).

Republic of Liberia
Republic of Liberia#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Liberia.


Luxembourg

From Middle High German Luccelemburc, from Old High German Lucilinburhuc, ultimately from luzil (“little”) + burg (“castle”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtilaz and *burgz. Piecewise doublet of Littleborough and Littlebury.

piecewise doublet

Luxemburg (alternative)
Luxemburg City (alternative)
Lëtzebuerg (alternative)

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg#English

A small country in Western Europe. Official name: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Capital and largest city: Luxembourg.


Monaco

/mɒˈnɑː.kəʊ/

Ultimately from Ancient Greek Μόνοικος (Mónoikos), which is of unknown (possibly Ligurian) origin. The name was associated at an early date with Hercules, who had a temple here, and was said to mean “he who dwells alone”; see μόνος (mónos) and οἰκέω (oikéō).

Principality of Monaco
Principality of Monaco#English

A city-state in Western Europe. Official name: Principality of Monaco.


Madagascar

/mædəˈɡæskɑɹ/

Borrowed from Middle French Madagascar, from Madageiscar, popularly reputed as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu by Marco Polo's misreading of Arabic. The maps of particular interest are that of al-Idrisi in the 12th century, who produced the Tabula Rogeriana, the most advanced world map at the time.
The actual misconstrued term was Arabic جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ (jazīrat al-mālāʔiyy, “The Island of Mālāī”) listed alongside Arabic جَزِيرَة القَمَر (jazīrat al-qamar, “The Island of the Moon”) which lent its name to Comoros; Madagascar however likely being the original based on its dimensions.
The map in question warps the direction of Africa's east coast to be parallel to the coast of southeast Asia, prompting a conflation of the regions furthest east and furthest south, in the reaches of Arab exploration. This perhaps makes the Island of Mālāī both representing Madagascar and an island in Indonesia, likely Sumatra, in close proximity to Malaysia. To conflate matters further, the populations of both regions are of Austronesian background, a fact pointed out by Arab explorers who identified Madagascar as colony of the former region. A second wave of Austronesians, including Malays, did indeed migrate to the island after the first group had originally left from what was likely Southern Borneo from linguistic and genetic analysis.
"Mālāī-Gezīra" also holds connection to the term for the people and languages of the island, Malagasy, which had earlier forms Malegass and Madegass, because of dialect division.

der

جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ

noncog

جَزِيرَة القَمَر

Republic of Madagascar
Republic of Madagascar#English

An island and country off the east coast of Africa. Official name: Republic of Madagascar. Capital: Antananarivo.


Marshall Islands

desc

→ Japanese: マーシャル諸島 (Māsharu shotō) (calque)

There, in that emptiness, the typhoon is organising. For the last twenty-four hours it’s been shifting west, by now past the Marshall Islands, that fragile tracery of sinking lands so piecemeal and storm-worn.

2023, Samantha Harvey, Orbital, Jonathan Cape, page 23:

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) then outlined the trip itinerary, stating that President Lai will visit the three Pacific allies in the following order: the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and then Palau. He said that during his time in the Marshall Islands, the president will meet with President Heine and her cabinet and with Speaker of the Nitijela (parliament) Brenson Wase, adding that the president will also address the Nitijela, attend a ceremony marking the completion of the Majuro Hospital AI and Telemedicine Center, and attend a state banquet hosted by President Heine.

2024 November 22, “President Lai to lead delegation on visit to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, and Palau”, in Office of the President, Republic of China (Taiwan) [中華民國總統府], archived from the original on 2024-11-22, News releases:

Republic of the Marshall Islands#English

A country consisting of two archipelagos in Micronesia, in Oceania. Official name: Republic of the Marshall Islands. Capital and largest city: Majuro.


Mali

Inherits its name from the Mali Empire, in turn from Mandinka or Dyula mali (“hippopotamus”).

Republic of Mali
Republic of Mali#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Mali.


Mongolia

/mɒŋˈɡəʊli.ə/

Pope Francis hoped that his visit would deepen cooperation and dialogue between the Church and Mongolia.
“I am certain that Mongolian Catholics will continue to offer readily their proper contribution to the building of a prosperous and secure society, in dialogue and cooperation with all others who dwell in this great land kissed by the sky,” he said.

2023 September 2, “‘May the dark clouds of war be dispelled,’ Pope says in Mongolia”, in EFE, archived from the original on 2023-09-02:

A country in East Asia. Capital and largest city: Ulaanbaatar.


Mauritania

/ˌmɔːɹɪˈteɪni.ə/

From Latin Maurītānia, from Maurus (“Moor”). Doublet of Mauretania.

Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Islamic Republic of Mauritania#English

A country in West Africa. Official name: Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Capital: Nouakchott.


Malta

Antonine Itinerary
Malta
Malta (disambiguation)

From Italian and Maltese Malta, from Arabic مَالِطَا (māliṭā, “Māliṭā”) etc., from Latin Melita, from Ancient Greek Μελίτη (Melítē), apparently from μέλι (méli, “honey”) + -η (-ē, “-a: forming feminine place names”) although its use for the island of Malta is considered uncertain. Some scholars consider it to represent the importance of the islands' indigenous bees and their output. Others consider it a transcription of Phoenician 𐤌𐤋𐤈 (mlṭ, “Grand Harbor, Cospicua”), from 𐤌𐤋𐤈 (mlṭ, “refuge, port”), reapplied first to the island and then, after the Punic Wars, to its Roman seat of government at Mdina. Note however that Latin Malta is already attested in some medieval manuscripts of the Antonine Itinerary. See Wikipedia's articles on Melite and Malta. Doublet of Meleda and Mljet.

der

Arabic مَالِطَا (māliṭā, “Māliṭā”)

And so far just two member states, Malta and Finland, are on track to meet their resettling obligations.

Republic of Malta
Republic of Malta#English

An archipelago and country in Southern Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea. Official name: Republic of Malta. Capital: Valletta.


Mauritius

→ Japanese: モーリシャス (Mōrishasu)

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
Mauritius

From a Latinized form of the name of Maurits van Nassau.

Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mauritius#English

A country in the Indian Ocean, east of East Africa and Madagascar. Official name: Republic of Mauritius.


Maldives

⇒ Japanese: モルディブ (Morudibu)

Based on Malé Islands; from Malé, the name of the main island (from Dhivehi މާލެ (māle)) + Prakrit 𑀤𑀻𑀯 (dīva, “island”), from Sanskrit द्वीप (dvīpá).

Republic of Maldives
Republic of Maldives#English

An archipelago and country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of India. Official name: Republic of Maldives. Capital: Malé.


Malawi

Said to be from Chichewa malawi (“flames”), after the appearance of the sunrise over Lake Malawi; also possibly from Maravi, the name of an early Malawi tribe, or from an old name for a lake. Chosen by Hastings Banda in 1964.

A possible constitutional crisis loomed in Malawi following the reported death of President Bingu wa Mutharika, once hailed as a positive steward for the southern African country.

2012 April 6, Faith Karimi, “Potential crisis looms in Malawi amid reports of president’s death”, in CNN:

Republic of Malawi
Republic of Malawi#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Malawi.


Mozambique

Borrowed from Portuguese Moçambique, from the name of sultan Mussa Bin Bique.

Mosambique (alternative)
Mocambique (alternative)

Republic of Mozambique
Republic of Mozambique#English

A country in East Africa and Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Mozambique (since 1990). Capital: Maputo.


Namibia

Republic of Namibia
Republic of Namibia#English

A country in Southern Africa. Official name: Republic of Namibia. Capital: Windhoek.

Séí Dah Daaskʼidtah Naakaii Łizhiní Bikéyah


Niger

→ Japanese: ナイジャ (Naija)

/niːˈʒɛə(ɹ)/

Commonly linked by folk etymology to Latin niger (“black”), which likely influenced the modern spelling.
Some sources give the term to Tuareg roots, deriving it from a claimed gher n-gheren or egereou n-igereouen (“river of rivers”). Compare Tarifit iɣzar-n-iɣezran.
Older sources derive Niger, via a series of mistranslations and geographic misplacements by Greek, Roman and Arab geographers, from Ptolemy's descriptions of the wadi Gir (in modern Algeria) and the "Lower Gir" (or "Ni-Gir") to the south.

An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by terrorists has been released, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday.

2023 March 20, Kylie Atwood, “American citizen held hostage for 6 years in West Africa has been freed”, in CNN:

Republic of the Niger
Republic of the Niger#English

A country in West Africa, situated to the north of Nigeria. Official name: Republic of the Niger.


Nigeria

→ Japanese: ナイジェリア (Naijeria)

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪə̯ɹiə/

/naɪˈd͡ʒɪɹiə/

/naɪˈd͡ʒiːɹiə/

From Niger + -ia, coined by British journalist Flora Shaw in 1897.

coin

Doctors in Nigeria have criticized a mass national identification registration policy, involving tens of millions of citizens, as Covid-19 cases and deaths rise in the country.

2021 February 10, Eoin McSweeney, “As Covid-19 cases rise in Nigeria, a government policy is creating crowds and chaos”, in CNN:

Federal Republic of Nigeria
Federal Republic of Nigeria#English

A country in West Africa, south of the country of Niger. Official name: Federal Republic of Nigeria. Capital: Abuja. Largest city: Lagos.


Nicaragua

/ˌnɪk.əˈɹɑ.ɡwə/

From Nicarao (“a native name”) + agua (“Spanish for water”).

com

Republic of Nicaragua
Republic of Nicaragua#English

A country in Central America. Official name: Republic of Nicaragua. Capitalː Managua.


Nepal

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal#English

A country in South Asia, located between China and India. Official name: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Capital and largest city: Kathmandu.


Nauru

/nɑːˈuː.ɹuː/

Possibly from Nauruan anáoero (“I go to the beach”).

The announcement Wednesday said those seeking refuge would all now be processed on the island nation of Nauru, another country that has been doing that work for Australia.

2021 October 6, Isabella Kwai, “Australia to Shift All Offshore Processing of Migrants to Island Nation of Nauru”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-10-06, Australia:

Republic of Nauru
Republic of Nauru#English

A country and island of Oceania, in the Pacific Ocean. Official name: Republic of Nauru.


Oman

Sultanate of Oman
Sultanate of Oman#English

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East. Official name: Sultanate of Oman. Capital: Muscat.


Panama

→ Chinese: 巴拿馬 /巴拿马 (Bānámǎ)

→ Rarotongan: Panama

Borrowed from Spanish Panamá, of unknown origin. Possibly from a Chibchan language such as Kuna, or another indigenous language of the region (such as Cueva, which is barely attested and is now extinct).

Republic of Panama
Republic of Panama#English

A country in Central America. Official name: Republic of Panama.


Peru

→ Japanese: ペルー (Perū)

Borrowed from Spanish Perú, possibly from the personal name Birú, or from the Quechua pelu (“river”).

Tara flour is one of two products made from the seed pods of a thorny shrub native to Peru. One of those, tara gum, has been used safely for years as a thickening agent or stabilizer in human foods.

2024 October 3, Sandee LaMotte, “‘I’ve never experienced pain like that’: Consumers pay the price for untested food ingredients”, in CNN:

Republic of Peru
Republic of Peru#English

A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Peru. Capital and largest city: Lima.


Papua New Guinea

Tok Pisin: Papua Niugini

→ Japanese: パプアニューギニア (Papua Nyū Ginia)

see translations below for more

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Soundguys-Papua New Guinea.wav

From a combination of Papua (of uncertain etymology; see the term for more) and New Guinea, formerly referring to separately-administered dependent territories of Australia.

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea has declared a nine-month state of emergency in the country’s rugged Southern Highlands province in response to several days of riots.

2018 June 18, Joshua Berlinger, “Papua New Guinea declares 9-month state of emergency due to riots”, in CNN:

Independent State of Papua New Guinea#English

A country in Oceania. Official name: Independent State of Papua New Guinea. Capital and largest city: Port Moresby.


Pakistan

/ˌpɑːkɪˈstɑːn/

/ˌpɑːkɪˈstɑːn/

Borrowed from Urdu پاکستان (pākistān, “Land of the Holy”), from پاک (pāk, “pure, holy, immaculate, chaste, undefiled”) and Classical Persian ـستان (-stān,-istān, “-stan”). The word was coined by Pakistani politician Chuhdary Rahmat Ali in 1933, who published it in the pamphlet Now or Never as an acronym of the names of the "Muslim homelands" of western India—Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, and Balochistan. Absent from said acronym (which may possibly a backronym) is the letter ⟨i⟩, which is sometimes erroneously said to stand for the Indus, but it is in fact epenthetic.

coinage

Described by witnesses as a keen cricketer and pubgoer until contacts with Islamic militants radicalized him on a trip to Pakistan, he was ordered to serve at least 14 years for the plot, and for supplying militants in Afghanistan with money and equipment.

2008 February 19, John F. Burns, “Britain: Life Sentence in Beheading Plot”, in The New York Times:

Sharif at the time said the decision “will save the country precious foreign exchange” and that Pakistan has to “practice austerity.”

2022 June 15, Rhea Mogul, “Pakistanis told to drink less tea as nation grapples with economic crisis”, in CNN:

Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Islamic Republic of Pakistan#English

A country in South Asia. Official name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Capital: Islamabad.

इस्लामी गणराज्य पाकिस्तान m, इस्लामी गणतंत्र पाकिस्तान m, पाकिस्तान इस्लामी गणराज्य m, पाकिस्तान इस्लामी गणतंत्र m, इस्लामी जम्हूरिया पाकिस्तान m, इस्लामी जम्हूरिया ए पाकिस्तान m)


Portugal

/ˈpɔːt͡ʃəɡəl/

/ˈpɔːtjəɡəl/

/ˈpɔɹt͡ʃəɡəl/

/ˈpɔɹtuɡɑːl/

Borrowed from Portuguese Portugal, from Latin Portucale < Portus Cale (former name of what is now the city of Vila Nova de Gaia), from portus + Callus, which is disputed:
* From the name of the Gallaeci, a Celtic tribe of Iberia.
* From Latin calidus (“warm”).
* From Ancient Greek Καλλίς (Kallís, “Beautiful”), referring to the Douro valley; see καλός (kalós, “beautiful”).
* An Iberian pronunciation of Ancient Greek Γαῖα (Gaîa, “goddess of the Earth”).

cog

Portingale (alternative obsolete)
Portugall (alternative obsolete)
Portingall (alternative obsolete)

A distinction is usually made between Old Portuguese (português antigo, português arcaico), referring to the period from the earliest texts to 1540, Classical Portuguese (1540-1850), and Modern Portuguese (1850 to the present). There is sometimes a further subdivision of the Old Portuguese period into a Galician-Portuguese period (origins to 1350), during which the linguistic and cultural unit of Galicia and Portugal remained strong, and the Old Portuguese period proper (1350-1540).

2000, Glanville Price, Encyclopedia of the languages of Europe, reprint, illustrated edition, Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, page 367:

Cristiano Ronaldo’s eldest son has earned his first call-up for the Portugal Under-15 national squad, the team announced on Tuesday.

2025 May 7, Ben Morse, “‘Proud of you’: Cristiano Ronaldo’s eldest son earns first call-up for Portugal Under-15 national team”, in CNN:

Portuguese Republic
Portuguese Republic#English

A country in Southern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula. Official name: Portuguese Republic. Capital and largest city: Lisbon.


Paraguay

Disputed; from Guaraní Payagua (“Pajagua tribe”) y (“water”) or para (“river”) guái (“crown”) or para (“river”) gua (“from”) y (“water”).

Sanson in his Geographical Table hath divided this AMERICA MERIDIONALIS into PERUVIANA, and BRASLIANA [sic], subdividing Peruviana into Terra Firma, and Peru; and Brasiliana, into Brazile, and Paraguay; the first division is taken by a line which from the mouth of the Amazona, goes to seek the utmost part of Chili towards the South, ...

1670, Richard Blome, in “America, the Fourth Part” of A Geographical Description of the Four Parts of the World, 30

Republic of Paraguay
Republic of Paraguay#English

A country in South America. Official name: Republic of Paraguay. Capital and largest city: Asunción.


Qatar

→? Japanese: カタール (Katāru)

Transliteration of Arabic قَطَر (qaṭar).

Katar (alternative archaic rare)
Qaṭar (alternative rare)

Officials in Qatar have said that companies building World Cup stadiums will be held to higher standards of worker treatment, and proposed changes to the kafala system are undergoing legislative review.

2015 July 15, Barry Meier, “Labor Scrutiny for FIFA as a World Cup Rises in the Desert”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2015-07-19:

A country in Western Asia, in the Middle East. Official name: State of Qatar. Capital: Doha.


Romania

From Romanian român (“Romanian”) (in turn from Latin romanus (“Roman”)) + -ia. Doublet of Romagna.

România (alternative rare)
Rumania (alternative archaic)
Roumania (alternative archaic)

Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe#English

A country in Southeast Europe. Capital and largest city: Bucharest.


Rwanda

From Rwanda-Rundi u Rwanda from the archaic verb -anda (“to expand”). Compare Zulu anda (“to multiply”).

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) warned there was a risk some migrants sent to Rwanda could be returned to countries from which they had fled. Kigali denied the allegations and accused UNHCR of lying.

2025 May 5, “Rwanda in talks to receive migrants deported from US, foreign minister says”, in Reuters:


Sudan

en-prop

Sudan or the Sudan (countable and uncountable, plural Sudans)

Sudan (canonical)
the Sudan (canonical)
Sudans (plural)
Soudan (alternative)

Derived from Arabic سُودَان (sūdān, “black people”), plural of أَسْوَد (ʔaswad).

der+

A country in North Africa and East Africa.

Turkish Sudan; autonym Turkiyyah; Sudan under the Eyalet of Egypt, from 1820 to 1885

Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, from 1885 to 1898

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt from 1899 to 1955

But while the capture of Khartoum marks an important moment in the conflict, with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deeply embedded elsewhere in Sudan and attempting to form a parallel government, analysts warn there is little likelihood of a swift resolution to the war.

2025 March 27, Nimi Princewill, “Sudan’s army has captured the capital. Is it a turning point in the devastating conflict?”, in CNN:

Republic of the Sudan
Republic of the Sudan

Often used with the definite article "the".


Singapore

→ Bengali: সিঙ্গাপুর (śiṅgapur)

→ Burmese: စင်ကာပူ (cangkapu)

→ Chinese: 新加坡 (Xīnjiāpō)

→ Zhuang: Sinhgyahboh

⇒ Faroese: Singapor

⇒ Finnish: Singapore

→ Hawaiian: Sinapoa

→ Irish: Singeapór

→ Japanese: シンガポール (Shingapōru)

→ Korean: 싱가포르 (Singgaporeu)

→ Polish: Singapur

⇒ Telugu: సింగపూర్ (siṅgapūr)

desc

→ Thai: สิงคโปร์ (sǐng-ká-bpoo) (semi-learned)

/ˈsɪŋɡəpɔː(ɹ)/

/sɪŋɡəˈpɔː(ɹ)/

From Malay Singapura, from Sanskrit सिंहपुर (siṃhá-pura), from सिंह (siṃha, “lion”) + पुर (pura, “city”).

compound

Republic of Singapore
Republic of Singapore#English

An island and city-state in Southeast Asia, located off the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula; a former British crown colony and state of Malaysia (1963-1965). Official name: Republic of Singapore.

Singapoer

an island and city-state in Southeast Asia


Slovenia

Slovene (from German, from Slovene) + -ia.

Balkan Peninsula
Balkan Peninsula#English

Republic of Slovenia
Republic of Slovenia#English

A country on the Balkan Peninsula in Central Europe. Official name: Republic of Slovenia. Capital and largest city: Ljubljana. Part of Yugoslavia until 1991.