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Your city's name


Ruso

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That's interesting because I believed at another meaning. Unfortunately I can't remember where I had read it but -by memory- the Indian name of Chicago would be "Checagou" and would mean "wild onion" ^_^

actually I heard that chicagouah means garlic... b/c that area was a marshland and some of the plants that grew there had a really strong smell..

American Experience on pbs did a great documentary called Chicago: city of the century.

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actually I heard that chicagouah means garlic... b/c that area was a marshland and some of the plants that grew there had a really strong smell..

American Experience on pbs did a great documentary called Chicago: city of the century.

I have the same idea. "Wild Onion" in my mind means "wild garlic". I know this plant which grows in the forest, in may, close ponds. You can't approach because, yes... that's smell too strong !

We are in agreement about the name of Chicago. :thumbsup:

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Rotterdam: there's a river here, that flows through the city of Rotterdam. This river is called the Rotte. Centuries ago, a dam was buildt along this river, and a town was founded nearby this dam. This town was called "Rotterdam", after the dam on the river "Rotte".

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Concerning Chicago I got the "bad smell" from a History Channel documentary on the 1930's gangs of the city. It was narrated by that Sorvino guy (from Law and Order fame?).

I read on wikipedia's description of Chicago that it was in fact a marsh land near the river's mouth that wild garlic grew to abundance.

Wouldn't an Indian word though have double meanings or different connotations. To be nice "wild garlic" sure sure, but you know the reason the French missonaries and Indians agreed on that term . . . you couldn't stop thinking about all that "wild garlic" rotting even if you wanted to . . . "bad smell" :P

And people think Pittsburgh is a bad word ;)

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You can always tell who's a non-native because they all say "DEEtroit." All the natives say "DihTroih." :)

Hmmm, I must be a native then and not know it :P , I'm the only person I can think of where I'm from that pronounces it that way.

On a side note, I've heard Atlanta and Savannah pronounced 'Lanner and 'Savanner*, respectively, by some of our more rural residents in the Southeast.

*Sometimes, even S'vanner. :silly:

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Here is one that I love because the meaning and the impression are so very different. Boca Raton is Spanish meaning Rat's Mouth or Mouse's Mouth. Of course that has a different visual impression than the city, but it has a different meaning still because the mouth is the opening of a river or inlet. In other words, a small outlet from a lake or river to the sea. So the next time someone uses Boca Raton to try to be pretentious, respond with, "Oh, you mean Rat's Mouth." LOL.

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"Tallahassee" is a Muskogean Indian word often translated as "old fields," or "old town." This likely stems from the Creek (later called Seminole) Indians that migrated into this region in the 18th century recognizing that it had previously been occupied by the powerful Apalachee Indians, who cultivated large fields of crops in the region's red clay hills.

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The origin of the name Miami is unknown. One possibility is that it comes from a Native American word for "sweet water." The area was a concentration of water because the Miami River is essentially a funnel for water from the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean. Another theory is that the name comes from the original name of Lake Okeechobee, Mayaimi, which meant "big water" by the natives that lived there. After contact with Europeans they were named after their name for the lake, becoming known as the Mayaimi tribe.

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Louisville (pronounced Lou-ah-vul) - "The Gateway to the South"

Founded 1780. Named in honor of Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers at the time were aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War. See pic - Louis XVI statue stands next to Louisville Metro Hall (pre-merger Jefferson County Courthouse).

97uskl1.jpg

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Durham, NC was named for Bartlett Durham, a physician that donated a tract of land so a railroad station could be built.

The only native Detriot-ers I ever encountered were on the T in my native Boston. They pronounced it DEE-troit.

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How our "Federal City" became known as Washington, DC is indeed a tortured tale of compromise and behind the scene dealings of the US constitutional congress.

If some 18th century politicians had their way tourist to our nations capital may very well be sending postcards from Washingtonople or Washingtonapolis. Through rigorous compromise (North vs. South) congress settled on a site located along the Potomac River which ran between Maryland and Virginia. The exact location of the new federal city was left up to George Washington who settled on a 10 square tract that included Alexandria, VA., and the independent town of George Town as well as wooded tracts and farmlands east of the river with such names as Widow's MIte, Jamaica and Hogpen Enlarged. Washington developed a plan to market his federal city by creating building lots an then auctioning them to developers and perspective home builders. There was still no name for the federal city. The Federal City planner Pierre L'Enfant named the city simply the "Permanent Seat of the Government" on his early maps. This did not have a nice ring to it, so newspapers sent out an appeal to readers to name the new capital. Some suggested Washingtonople, while others suggested Columbus and Washingtonapolis.

On September 8, 1791 a group of distinguished men including Thomas Jefferson, Rep. James Madison and others appointed by George Washington met in George Town to discuss the new capital. Some in the group supported naming it Washington while others argued for Columbia in recognition of the 300th anniversary of Columbus' famous voyage. A compromise was struck: the federal city (White House and Capitol) would be known as the city of Washington, and the general area would be called the District of Columbia.

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