Colombia

Colombia
   is the name of the South American country, and it is misspelled shamefully often, as here: "Next is a piece about rebels in Columbia" (Boston Globe). The problem arises because the man known in his native Italy as Cristoforo Colombo became in English Christopher Columbus. Thus words derived from his name in English-Columbia University, the District of Columbia, British Columbia-carry a u, but those originated by speakers of Romance languages are spelled with an o in the second syllable. In all events, misspelling a country's name is about as inexcusable a mistake as a journalist can make.

Dictionary of troublesome word. . 2013.

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  • Colombia — • Forms the north west corner of the South American Continent Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Colombia     Colombia     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • COLOMBIA — COLOMBIA, South American republic; population 43,800,000 (2003); Jewish population estimated at approximately 3,400. History Jewish settlement in the country dates back to the arrival of the crypto jews during the Colonial Period. The first to… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Colombia — (Милан,Италия) Категория отеля: 4 звездочный отель Адрес: Via R. Lepetit ,15, Центральный в …   Каталог отелей

  • Colombia — South American nation, independent from 1819 as part of Gran Colombia (after its breakup in 1850, as New Granada, then Colombia from 1863); named for It. explorer Christopher COLUMBUS (Cf. Columbus) (It. Colombo, Port. Colom, Sp. Colón) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Colombia — Colombia, Staat, so v. w. Columbia …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Colombĭa — Colombĭa, Vereinigte Staaten von, s. Kolumbien …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Colombia — Colombĭa, südamerik. Republik, s.v.w. Kolumbien …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Colombia — [kə lum′bē ə; ] Sp [ kō̂ lō̂m′byä] country in NW South America, on the Pacific Ocean & the Caribbean Sea: gained independence from Spain in 1819: 440,829 sq mi (1,141,743 sq km); pop. 29,482,000; cap. Bogotá Colombian adj., n …   English World dictionary

  • Colombia — This article is about the country. For other uses and spellings, see Colombia (disambiguation) and Colombia (disambiguation). Republic of Colombia República de Colombia (Spanish) …   Wikipedia

  • Colombia — Para otros usos de este término, véase Colombia (desambiguación). República de Colombia …   Wikipedia Español

  • Colombia — Colombian, adj., n. /keuh lum bee euh/; Sp. /kaw lawm byah/, n. a republic in NW South America. 37,418,290; 439,828 sq. mi. (1,139,155 sq. km). Cap.: Bogotá. * * * Colombia Introduction Colombia Background: Colombia was one of the three countries …   Universalium

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