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The meaning of the word American in the English language varies according to the historical, geographical, and political context in which it is used.American is derived from America, a term originally denoting all of the Americas (also called the Western Hemisphere), ultimately derived from the name of the Florentine explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci (1451–1512).
American + Sāmoa: The CIA World Factbook says "The name Samoa is composed of two parts, 'sa', meaning sacred, and 'moa', meaning center, so the name can mean Holy Center; alternately, it can mean 'place of the sacred moa bird' of Polynesian mythology." [113] "American" is ultimately derived from Amerigo Vespucci. [114]
The word American is sometimes questioned because the people referred to resided in the Americas before they were so named. As of 1995, according to the US Census Bureau, 50% of people who identified as Indigenous preferred the term American Indian, 37% preferred Native American, and the remainder preferred other terms or had no preference. [18]
In this view, native speakers shared this indigenous word with Columbus and members of his crew, and Columbus made landfall in the vicinity of these mountains on his fourth voyage. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] The name America then spread via oral means throughout Europe relatively quickly even reaching Waldseemüller, who was preparing a map of newly ...
Central America—the southern region of the North American continent, comprising Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. [16] Sometimes, Central America may be defined to only include the five countries which gained independence as the United Provinces of Central America .
American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts; Organizations. American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas;
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American English and British English (BrE) often differ at the levels of phonology, phonetics, vocabulary, and, to a much lesser extent, grammar and orthography. The first large American dictionary, An American Dictionary of the English Language, known as Webster's Dictionary, was written by Noah Webster in 1828, codifying several of these ...