South American Country Name Derivation Quiz

Answer: Argentina

The eighth largest country in the world, Argentina's name comes from the Latin word for silver, argentum. The use of the name originated with Portuguese and Spanish explorers in the 16th century. South America is the world's largest source of silver and that metal was a major component of global trade in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Answer: Colombia

The word Colombia is derived from the name of Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo in Italian). It was first coined by the splendidly named Venezuelan revolutionary Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza, as a proposed name for a large independent empire of states freed from Spanish and Portuguese control.

It was adopted by Gran Colombia in 1819, which included all of the present-day countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador, plus other territory. The Republic of Colombia, after various changes and struggles, was formed in 1886.

Answer: Guyana

Guyana, formerly British Guiana, became independent from the UK in 1966. It is the only mainland South American country that has English as an official language, and the only one that participates in the West Indies cricket team.

Answer: Venezuela

The story is that Amerigo Vespucci was the navigator on a fifteenth century expedition that visited the coast of what is now Venezuela. He was a native of Venice, and he saw houses on stilts that reminded him of his home city, so he named the area Veneziola.

There is a conflicting account from a fellow crew member on that expedition that the native people they encountered called themselves Veneciuela.

Answer: Chile

Chile is a long, narrow country that lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes.

Other possible sources of its name include similarity to an area of Peru that had a town called Chili and native words meaning "sea gulls", "border", "the lowest place on earth" or "cold".

Answer: Bolivia

Bolivia is the 28th largest country in the world, with a great range of terrain and biodiversity.

Its 16 year war for independence ended successfully in 1825, and it took the name of "El Libertador", Simón Bolívar, who became its first president.

Answer: Peru

The first option for the derivation of the name "Peru" is that it comes from the name "Birú" - who was a 16th century ruler of a province of the same name. The alternative is that it came from a 16th century Spanish explorer's conversation with a fisherman, who was asked his name and the name of the place they were meeting. He replied "Berú" and "Pelú" respectively, and the two words somehow got combined to make "Peru".

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human habitation in Peru as far back as 9000BC.

Answer: Uruguay

The River Uruguay's name comes from the Spanish attempt to pronounce the Guarani word for it. It either means "river of the Uru", a type of bird, or "river of the uruguá", which is a type of shellfish which is plentiful in the river.

Uruguay's motto is "Freedom or Death".

Answer: Ecuador

There are 10 other countries whose land the Equator passes through plus two island nations it goes through without touching land. While Ecuador was part of Gran Colombia, its borders were established and it was referred to as the District of Ecuador. It retained the name on leaving Colombia in 1830.

Some intellectuals have suggested that it is named after an imaginary line and is an imaginary country.

Answer: Brazil

Brazil is said to have been named after brazilwood (Caesalpinia echinata), a tree that was once plentiful there, and commercially important as the source of a red dye.

This is not the same as the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa), which Brazilian law forbids to be cut down. Bolivia is actually the largest producer. It is botanically not a nut - it's a seed.