14 lines
839 B
Plaintext
14 lines
839 B
Plaintext
---
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name: "European Country Names Explained"
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subtitle: "One of them means land of the rabbits"
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date: 2026-07-29
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link: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pcv2ySMi40"
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linkText: "youtube.com"
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source: "Kottke.org"
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topics: [words-and-humor, history-and-archives]
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tags: [etymology, geography, video]
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description: "Rob Watts works through where every European country's name came from, including why Germany has so many and what Croatians have to do with neckties."
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---
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Watts takes the whole map in one pass, and the pleasure is how rarely the answer is grand. One country is named for its rabbits. Germany collected a different name from each neighbour that met a different tribe first. The Dutch turn out not to live where their name says. And the word cravat is a French mangling of *Hrvat* — Croat — after the scarves their cavalry wore.
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