List of words derived from toponyms

This is a list of English language words derived from toponyms, followed by the place name it is derived from.

General

agate — after Achates, ancient Greek name for the river Dirillo on the Italian island of Sicily
Alberta clipper — a weather phenomenon named after the Canadian province of Alberta, where it originates ^[1]
Angora goat, Angora rabbit, Angora wool (obtained from the previous two), Angora cat — named after Angora, variant or former name of Ankara, their place of origin ^[2]^[3]
Antimacassar — after Makassar, Indonesia, which was the source of hair oil
Armageddon — after "mount of Megiddo", where the battle was to be fought according to myth ^[4]
badminton — after Badminton in Gloucestershire, England
balkanization — after the Balkans, region in southeastern Europe similarly divided into small nations in the twentieth century ^[5]
bangalored — after Bangalore, India; used often in the US when jobs are lost because of outsourcing; first time use by the magazine The Economist; usage: "He is sulking today because he got bangalored."^[6]
Bedford cord, a heavy fabric with a ribbed weave similar to corduroy; named after either Bedford, England or possibly New Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedlam — meaning pandemonium, after popular name/pronunciation of St Mary of Bethlehem, London's first psychiatric hospital
Bedlington Terrier, a breed of dog, after Bedlington, UK
bezant — former gold coin, and current heraldic charge, after Byzantium (now Istanbul), where the coins were made
bikini — two-piece bathing suit for women, after Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, where atomic bombs were tested in 1946; supposedly analogous to the "explosive" effect on the male libido
the Blarney and Blarney Stone — Blarney Castle
Boeotian, an ancient Greek term for a fool, after the Boeotian people
bohemian — term referring to artists, writers, and other people who wished to live an unconventional, vagabond, or "gypsy" lifestyle; from Bohemia, where "gypsies" were erroneously thought to originate; see also gypsy, below
La Brabançonne, national anthem of Belgium — Brabant, province of Belgium
Bronx cheer — a noise made by the mouth to signify derision; after The Bronx, a borough of New York City
brummagem — goods of shoddy quality; from a local pronunciation of Birmingham, city in the United Kingdom
bungalow — a low building or house, from a Gujarati word meaning "Bengalese", used elliptically to mean a house built in the style of Bengal
Byzantine, used to describe any work, law, or organization that is excessively complex or difficult to understand, named after Byzantine Empire
calico — a type of cloth named after Calicut, where Europeans first obtained it; Calico cat and calico horse are derived from the appearance of their mottled coat suggesting calico cloth
canary — a small yellow bird, originating on and named after the Canary Islands, specifically the largest island, Gran Canaria, called in Latin Insula Canaria, "island of dogs", after the wild native dogs found there
Capri pants — mid-calf pants named for the Italian isle of Capri, where they rose to popularity in the late 1950s and early '60s.
Caucasian — name for the "white race", coined by anthropologist Johann Blumenbach after Caucasus Mountains, their supposed ancestral homeland
chautauqua — a form of local fair, after Chautauqua, New York, where the first one was held
Chicago Typewriter, a nickname for the Thompson submachine gun
chihuahua — small dog from Chihuahua, state of Mexico
china — originally chinaware, as in "wares from China"
Chinese wall, artificial organizational barrier, derived from Great Wall of China
coach — a type of carriage, ultimately from Hungarian kocsi (szekér) or "carriage of Kocs", where this vehicle was first made
Coldstream Guards — regiment founded at Coldstream in Scotland
Corinthian order — one of the three orders of classical architecture, after Corinth in Greece
Coventry (in the construction "Send to Coventry"): shunned by friends and family, after the treatment of Royalist prisoners during the English Civil War
Damask — material, from Damascus
denim — a coarse cotton fabric, from French serge de Nîmes, or "serge of Nîmes", where the cloth originated
derby — a stakes race limited to three-year-old steeds, named after Derby in England by way of its 12th Earl; also refers to a style of shoe and hat.
dollar — a unit of currency, originally from the German taler, an abbreviation of Joachimstaler ("gulden of Joachimstal"), a coin minted (1519) from silver mined near Joachimsthal, Bohemia
donnybrook — colloquial term for a brawl or fracas, derived from Donnybrook Fair, an annual horse fair in the Dublin suburb notorious for fighting and drunkenness
doolally or dolally — an adjective meaning "mad" or "eccentric" (e.g. "to go dolally"), ultimately named after Deolali, a hill station near Nashik in colonial India, referring to the apparent madness of men waiting to return to Britain after their tour of duty
duffel or duffle — heavy woollen cloth, hence duffel coat and duffel bag; after Duffel, a town in Belgium where it was first made
Dunkirk spirit, after the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II
Fez, (also called tarboosh), a hat — Fez, a city in Morocco
Finlandization, the influence a large country can have on a smaller one, after Finland
gamboge, a yellow artist's pigment — Cambodge, French name for Cambodia
geyser, a hot water spring — Geysir in Iceland
Glasgow kiss, a slang term meaning headbutt — Glasgow, Scotland
Greek, not understandable ("all Greek to me") — Greek language of Greece
Guinea, former British gold coin, and guineafowl — Guinea region of West Africa
Gypsies, nomadic peoples in Europe and United States — Egypt
Habanera — a musical style named after Havana, Cuba
Hackney carriage, name for the London taxicab, probably from Hackney in London, England
Havana, cigar — from capital of Cuba
Hempenstall, a surname, after the town of Heptonstall (England)
Honiton, a form of lace, after the town in Devon (England) where it is produced
Holland, cotton or linen fabric — Holland
iliad — a long narrative poem, or a series of woes, trials, etc.; both derive from the Homeric epic Iliad, literally meaning "of Ilium" (or Troy)
Indian, the aboriginal peoples of the New World, after India
Ionic order — one of the three orders of classical architecture, after Ionia in present-day Turkey
japanning, application of lacquer, after Japan
Jeans, denim trousers; Genoa
Jersey cattle (also tomato, milk, cream, jumper) — Jersey, one of the Channel Islands
Labyrinth, maze, after a legendary structure on Crete
Left Bank, style of life, fashion, or "look" — "Left Bank", left bank of the Seine (facing downstream) in Paris
Leghorn chicken — after Leghorn, historical name for Livorno, Italy
Lesbian, female homosexual — Lesbos, island in Greece
Lipizzaner, a breed of horse — Lipica, town in Slovenia
Magenta, colour — named after Magenta, Lombardy
Marathon, long race — Marathon, Greece, town
Madras, lightweight cotton fabic — Madras, old name for Chennai, coastal city in southeastern India
Manila envelopes, Manila fiber — Manila, city in Philippines
Marseillaise, national anthem of France — Marseille, city in France
Masada, a mass suicide when conditions are hopeless, after Masada, Israel
Mausoleum, a large and impressive tomb — Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in Turkey
meander, a bend in a river — Meander, a river in Turkey
Mecca, ultimate destination or activity center — Mecca, holy city in Saudi Arabia
Mongoloid race — Mongolia, country in central Asia
Morocco leather — Morocco, country in north Africa
Muslin, a lightweight fabric — Mosul, Iraq
Neanderthal man, known by his fossils — Neanderthal, Germany, valley where the fossils were found
Nicene Creed, Christian doctrine — Nicaea, old name for İznik in Turkey
Olympics, worldwide games — Mount Olympus, tallest mountain in Greece
Ottoman (furniture), a type of stool — after the Ottoman Empire
Paisley (design), used in shawls — Paisley, Scotland
Panama hat — Panama in Central America, where it was first sold
Portland cement — named after the Isle of Portland, England
Rubicon, the point of no return — Rubicon (or Rubico), a small former river in northern Italy
Rhode Island Red — Chicken named after Rhode Island
Rugby football — Rugby School, in Rugby, Warwickshire, central England
Shanghaied — drugged and forced into service aboard a ship, from Shanghai, China
Siamese twins, conjoined twins — Siam, old name for Thailand
Siberia, a remote undesirable location — Siberia, in eastern Russia
Skid Row, originally Skid Road of Seattle, now the rundown area of a U.S. city
Sodomy, forbidden sexual acts — Sodom, Biblical town on the plain of the Dead Sea
Solecism, incorrect or ungrammatical usage of language — Soli an ancient city in Cilicia, where a dialect of Greek regarded as substandard was spoken
Spa, place having water with health-giving properties — Spa, a town in Belgium
Suede, a durable fabric — French name for Sweden
Surrey, horse-drawn carriage — Surrey, a county in southern England
Timbuktu, metaphor for an exotic, distant land — Timbuktu, city on the Niger River in Mali, West Africa
Trojan horse, malicious computer virus — Trojan Horse, of Troy, from the Iliad
turkey, from Turkey
tuxedo, after Tuxedo Park, New York
Vaudeville, after the Vau de Vire the setting for the bawdy songs of Olivier Basselin.
volcano, from Italian island of Vulcano
Xanadu, a symbol of opulence — Xanadu (or Shangdu), summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire

Events and agreements

Abu Ghraib (Iraq) – the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal in 2003
Attica (New York) – the Attica Prison riots in 1971
Beijing (China) – the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1994
Brest (Belarus) – the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918
Bretton Woods (New Hampshire) – The Bretton Woods system from 1944
Cairo (Egypt) – the International Conference on Population and Development of 1994
Camp David (U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland) – the Camp David Accords of 1978 and the Camp David 2000 Summit
Copenhagen (Denmark) – the World Summit for Social Development in 1995
Dayton (Ohio) – the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1995
Doha (Qatar) – the Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations that began in 2001
Durban (South Africa) – the World Conference against Racism in 2001
Geneva (Switzerland) – the Geneva Conventions, and the unofficial Geneva Accord negotiations of 2003
Gleneagles (Scotland) – the 31st G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland
Grand Trianon (a château in France) – the Treaty of Trianon in 1919
Hillsborough (Sheffield, England) – the Hillsborough disaster of 1989
Hiroshima (Japan) – the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945
Jackson State (Mississippi) – the Jackson State killings in 1970
Kent State (Ohio) – the Kent State shootings in 1970
Kyoto (Japan) – the Kyoto Protocol of 1997
Locarno (Switzerland) – the Locarno Treaties of 1925
Lockerbie (Scotland) – the Lockerbie bombing of 1988
Maastricht (The Netherlands) – the Maastricht treaty of 1992
Marrakesh (Morocco) – the Marrakesh Agreement of 1994 establishing the World Trade Organization
Munich (Germany) – the Munich Agreement of 1938 and the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Nantes – the Edict of Nantes in 1598
My Lai (Vietnam) – the My Lai Massacre of 1968
Nuremberg (Germany) – the Nuremberg Trials of 1945 to 1949
Oslo (Norway) – the Oslo Accords of 1993
Portsmouth (New Hampshire) – the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905 (not Portsmouth, England)
Potsdam (Germany) – the Potsdam Conference in 1945
Pugwash (Canada) – the Pugwash Conferences
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) – site of the Earth Summit, officially the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) of 1992
Saint-Germain-en-Laye (a château in France) – the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1919
San Stefano (now Yeşilköy, Turkey) – the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878
Schengen (Luxembourg) – the Schengen treaty of 1985
Seattle (Washington) – the WTO Meeting of 1999 in Seattle
Tordesillas (Spain) – the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494
Trafalgar (a headland in Spain) – the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
Uruguay – the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations from 1986 to 1994 that transformed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) into the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Versailles (France) – the Treaty of Versailles in 1919
Yalta (Ukraine) – the Yalta Conference in 1945
Warsaw (Poland) – the Warsaw Pact (1955–1991)
Waterloo (Belgium) – the Battle of Waterloo in 1815
Watergate (office building in Washington, D.C.) – the Watergate scandal of 1972 to 1975
Woodstock (New York) – the Woodstock Festival in 1969
Worms – the Concordat of Worms in 1122

Industries and professions

Bay Street — Canada's financial industry (similar to Wall Street), after Bay Street, the main street of Toronto's financial district
Beltway — the pundits, political leaders, and opinion-makers of Washington, D.C., after the highway surrounding the city
Broadway — musical theater, after Broadway, a street in New York City
The City — London-based financial services, after the City of London
Detroit — the American automobile industry
Fleet Street — the British press, after the London street that formerly housed many newspapers
Hollywood — the American motion picture industry, after the district of Los Angeles, California, where many motion picture companies are headquartered
K Street — lobbying industry working with the U.S. Federal government
Madison Avenue — advertising industry, after Madison Avenue, a street in New York City where many advertising firms are headquartered
Savile Row — tailoring, after the street in London where the most prestigious tailors are located
Wall Street — U.S. financial services industry, after Wall Street, street in New York City where many financial services firms are headquartered

Food and drink (other than cheese and wine)

Anjou pear — Anjou
Arbroath Smokie (a kind of smoked haddock) — Arbroath in Scotland
Bakewell Pudding — Bakewell, in Derbyshire, England
Bath bun — Bath, England
Bath Oliver (biscuit) — Bath, England
Berliner (pastry), named after Berlin
Black Forest gateau, Black Forest cake, Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte — Black Forest (Schwarzwald), Germany
Bolognese sauce — from Bologna, Italy
Bombay duck, a kind of fish — Bombay, old name for Mumbai, coastal city in western India
Brazil nut
Brussels sprout — after the capital of Belgium
Buffalo wings, named for Buffalo, New York, where they originated
Cantaloupe (also called rockmelon), a variety of melon — Cantalupo, multiple communes in Italy
Ceylon tea — from Ceylon, old name for Sri Lanka
Chelsea bun — Chelsea in London, England
Cognac
Coney Island hot dog — named after Coney Island, New York, but apparently invented in the Midwest of the United States
Cuban, sub sandwich in Florida — Cuba, country in the Caribbean
Curaçao liqueur — Curaçao
Currant, a dried raisin — Corinth in Greece
Danish, a sweet pastry — (in Denmark it is called wienerbrød, "bread from Vienna")
Darjeeling tea — Darjeeling in India
Dijon, mustard named after the French city
Dover sole — from Dover, England
Dublin Bay prawn — from Dublin, Ireland
Eccles cake — from Eccles, Greater Manchester, England
Frankfurter (or Wiener — from Vienna)
Hamburger — Hamburg, Germany
Hollandaise sauce — Holland
Jaffa orange — Jaffa
Jaffa Cakes
Java, slang for coffee — from island in Indonesia
Jerusalem artichoke — wrongly associated with Jerusalem
Kiwifruit — from Kiwi, the national symbol of and a nickname for New Zealand
Lancashire hotpot — from Lancashire, England
Lemon & Paeroa — from mineral water springs at the New Zealand town of Paeroa
Manhattan cocktail — Manhattan Club in New York City
Martini — Martinez, California, where the precursor to the martini, the Martinez, was developed
Mayonnaise — from Mahón, Menorca, Spain
Mocha coffee, ice cream — Mocha, Yemen, place where the coffee is grown
Peach — from Persia, old name for Iran
Peking Duck, a Chinese dish made of duck — Peking, old name for Beijing, China
Pilsner lager — Plzeň, Czech Republic
Pomfret Cakes — from Pontefract, Yorkshire, England
Salisbury steak — Salisbury, England
Sardine, types of small fish — Sardinia, island in the Mediterranean near Italy
Seltzer (commercial name), Selters, Germany
Seville orange — Seville
Shallot — Ashkelon
Swede (vegetable) — Sweden; also known as Swedish turnip
Tabasco sauce — Tabasco, state of Mexico
Tangerine — from Tangier in Morocco
Turkish Delight — Turkey
Valencia orange — Valencia, Spain
Welsh rarebit — A cheese and herb sauce drizzled over hot bread or toast; probably originating from Welsh peasants
Virginia peanut — Virginia
Yorkshire puddings from Yorkshire

Note: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is named after the local Saskatoon berry, rather than vice versa.

Cheese

Ackawi
American cheese, a common name for processed cheese
Asiago after Asiago, the plateau and town in northern Italy where it was first made
Brie after the Brie region in Île de France, where it was first made
Caerphilly after Caerphilly, a town in Wales
Camembert (cheese) after Camembert, Orne in France
Cheddar after Cheddar in Somerset, England, where it was originally made
Cheshire after Cheshire, a county in England
Colby after Colby, Wisconsin, where it was first made
Danbo cheese after Denmark
Derby cheese after Derbyshire a county in central England
Dubliner after Dublin, Ireland
Dunlop after the town of Dunlop in Ayrshire, Scotland
Edam after town of Edam in the Netherlands
Emmental after Emmental, the name of a valley in Switzerland where it was originally made
Double Gloucester cheese after Gloucester cattle, originally from Gloucester in England
Gorgonzola after Gorgonzola, a village in northern Italy
Gouda after the city Gouda in the Netherlands where originally made
Gruyère after Gruyère, a district in Switzerland where first made
Jarlsberg after the town Jarlsberg in Norway
Lancashire cheese after Lancashire in England
Lappi after Lapland region of Finland
Leicester cheese after Leicester in England
Limburger after Limburg, a former duchy of Lorraine
Manchego after La Mancha, Spain
Molbo, from the Mols peninsula in Jutland, Denmark
Monterey Jack, from Monterey, California (not Monterrey, Mexico)
Morbier
Munster after town Munster, Haut-Rhin in Alsace region of France
Nablusi
Neufchâtel, from Neufchâtel-en-Bray, the part of Normandie where it originates
Oaxaca, after Oaxaca de Juárez, a state and city in Mexico
Parmesan, from Parma, Italy
Roma(no) after Rome, Italy
Roquefort after a village in southern France
Samsø after the island of Samsø in Denmark
Stilton after Stilton, a village in England where it was first sold
Swiss after Switzerland
Tilsit after a town in East Prussia (now Sovetsk, Russia) where it was first produced
Wensleydale cheese after Wensleydale in North Yorkshire, England

Wine

Alsace
Asti — Asti (province), Italy
Beaujolais
Bordeaux
Burgundy
Chablis
Champagne, a sparkling wine named after the region of France in which it is produced
Chardonnay
Gamay
Hock, indirectly from Hochheim in Germany
Madeira wine, a fortified wine and Plum in madeira, a dessert — Madeira islands of Portugal
Marsala wine, a dry or sweet wine — Marsala, a town in western Sicily
Port wine (or Porto), sweet fortified wine — Porto, in northern Portugal
Rioja — La Rioja (region), Spain
Sherry wine, a mispronunciation of Jerez — Jerez de la Frontera, a city in southern Spain
Tokaji, white wine — a city in Hungary

Corporations

There are some corporations whose name is simply the same as their original location.

Elements

See: Chemical elements named after places

Musical genres

Britpop — British popular music
Canterbury scene — after Canterbury, Kent, England
Chicago soul — after Chicago
Dixieland jazz — after Dixie, nickname for the southern United States
Dunedin sound — after the New Zealand city of Dunedin
Madchester — after Manchester, England
Memphis soul — after Memphis, Tennessee
Merseybeat — after the River Mersey
Philly soul — after Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Urban Pasifika — after the Pacific Ocean
Goa Trance – after Goa

Derivations from literary or mythical places

Brobdingnagian, meaning very large in size — Brobdingnag, fictional land in the book Gulliver's Travels
Cloud cuckoo land, an unrealistically idealistic state where everything is perfect, from The Birds by Aristophanes
Eden, any paradisaical area, named after the religious Garden of Eden
El Dorado, any area of great wealth, after the mythical city of gold
hell, any horrible place, after the religious Hell
Lilliputian, meaning very small in size — Lilliput, fictional island in the book Gulliver's Travels
Munchkin, small children, dwarfs, or anything of diminutive stature — from the Munchkin country in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Never Never Land, a metaphor for eternal childhood, immortality, and escapism, from J. M. Barries's Peter Pan
Shangri-La, a mythical utopia, a language usage — Shangri-La, fictional place in the novel Lost Horizon
utopia, term for organized society — Utopia, fictional republic from the book of the same name

References

↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2006-11-10.
↑ "Angora – Define Angora at Dictionary.com". reference.com. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
↑ "www.chambersharrap.co.uk". chambersharrap.co.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
↑ "Armageddon – Define Armageddon at Dictionary.com". reference.com. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
↑ "Balkanization – Define Balkanization at Dictionary.com". reference.com. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
↑ "bangalored". dictionary.com.

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