STATE NAINIES — HARRINGTON d87 



form, would have the spelling Vert Mont, and the pronunciation 

 would be viir mON. The form would be considered as correct, but 

 not customary. 



Virginia. — The English colony of Virginia was named in 1584 in 

 honor of Elizabeth, Queen of England, who was widely termed the 

 Virgin Queen. Virginia is the feminine of the neo-Latin adjective 

 virginius.^ used as a country-name noun. 



Washington. — In 1853, Washington Territory, created out of part 

 of Oregon Territory, received the name of Washington in honor of 

 George Washington. Washington State was created in 1889. The 

 name AVashington would be more correctly spelled Wassington. It 

 derives from two words in Anglo-Saxon: "Wassinga Tuun," meaning 

 the ville, city, or stockade of the Wassings. 



West Virginia. — West Virginia was set aside from Virginia in 1861, 

 at the beginning of the Civil War, and became a separate State in 18G3. 

 For the origin of the name, see Virginia. 



Wisconsin. — The earliest occurrence of the name Wisconsin is by 

 Plennepin, 1695, and has the spelling Sisconsin. 8 is for ou. Some of 

 the early recordings start the word with m instead of with 8. It was 

 evidently the name of the Wisconsin River, or of some place on the 

 Wisconsin River. The name apparently means "grassy place'' in the 

 Chippewa language. Wisconsin was made a Territory in 1836 and 

 received its name from the Wisconsin River. Wisconsin became a 

 State in 1848. 



Wyoming. — The name Wyoming is from the Delaware language, 

 of Algonquian stock, and means "large prairie place." The original 

 reference is to the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania where the Wyo- 

 ming Massacre took place and where the city of Wilkes-Barre is now 

 situated. The poet Campbell wrote a long and famous poem entitled 

 "Gertrude of Wyoming." When it was desired to give a name to the 

 territory that was formed in 1868, the widely known Indian name of 

 Wyoming was chosen. Wyoming State was created in 1890. 



CANADIAN NAMES OF INDIAN ORIGIN 



Canada and five Canadian province names are of Indian origin and 

 so are included in this study. 



Jacques Cartier in 1545 made a statement as to the origin of the 

 name Canada to the effect that it is a Huron Iroquoian word meaning 

 "settlement." The original form in the language of the Mohawks is 

 Kanaata, meaning a "small place," in contrast to a town or city. 



Manitoha. — The province of Manitoba is named from the large lake 

 of that name which occurs in the province. This lake has, at the center 

 of its hourglass form, narrows that are called, in the language of the 

 Cree Indians who still inhabit these parts, Manitoowaapan, meaning 

 "spirit narrows," that is, dangerous narrows. Lake Saint Anne, "Lake 



