Because "Columba" means "dove" in Spanish, isn't it true that the name
of the South American country Colombia means "Doveland"?

Hi!!


The answer to your question is no, the name Colombia has its origin in
the name of the explorer who discovered America, Christopher Columbus
(Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian):
"Colombia's name references the explorer Christopher Columbus. The
name was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a
reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and
colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name originally
belonged to a short-lived republic consisting of present-day Colombia,
Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama (see Great Colombia). This republic
collapsed in 1830 when Venezuela and Ecuador separated, and the
Cundinamarca region which remained became a new country, the Republic
of New Granada. In 1863 New Granada changed its name officially to
United States of Colombia, and in 1886 adopted its present day name:
Republic of Colombia."
From "Colombia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Origin and history
of the name -":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombia#Origin_and_history_of_the_name


Search strategy:
Colombia name origin

I hope this helps you.

Regards,
livioflores-ga

My question seeks an etymological answer ('meaning'), not an
historical answer ('when'), as given here.

If it does, then Washington must mean Cleaning-Up-Town

"Columbia" is the Latin-ized form of Columbus as in Christopher.  It
sort of means Columbus-land.  It has nothing to do with the word
"dove."

Clever, but somewhat off-base. The suffix "ton" does derive from
"town," but the the root "wash" derives from the Indo-European "wed,"
meaning "water" or "wet"; therefore, "Washington" must mean
"Watering-Town" or "Wetting-Town."