Page 1 of 1

Canada

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:48 pm
by Dr. Goodword

• Canada •

Pronunciation: kæn-ê-dê • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Proper noun

Meaning: The name of the geographically second largest country on Earth, located to the north of the United States.

Notes: Anything related to Canada is Canadian, including its inhabitants, who are Canadians. The capital of Canada is Ottawa, with its most beautiful parliament building standing on Parliament Hill overlooking the Ottawa River. Its largest city is Toronto. Today is Canada Day in that country and we would like to wish all our Canadian readers the happiest of holidays.

In Play: The United States' longest border is with its friendliest and more progressive neighbor, Canada. I know from personal experience that Niagara Falls are best viewed from the Canadian side, and the Canadian Rockies are best enjoyed from the Canadian Pacific railway, which runs the breadth of the country.

Word History: Although Canada is the name of the second-largest country in the world, the word has much humbler origins. It is based on the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata "village, settlement". Happy Canada Day! In 1535, Iroquoians of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the nearby village of Stadacona. Cartier began using the word to refer not only to that village, but to the entire area subject to the chief of Stadacona. By the 18th century Canada referred to all of New France, which extended from the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country upon Confederation in 1867, and its status was defined as Dominion. However, as Canada asserted its political autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government increasingly used only Canada on state documents. This shift was reflected in the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day in 1982.

Re: Canada

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 12:32 pm
by LukeJavan8
Perhaps some discussion on such terms as
Dominion, Commonwealth, State would be helpful to
some. Commonwealth is from the 'common weal',
State surely differs between State of Israel, and
State of Iowa, for instance. Is it 5 of the US states
that are 'commonwealths'?

Happy CANADA DAY to all Canadian readers !

Re: Canada

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 1:30 pm
by damoge
Do wish the good Doctor had seen fit to include mention of, and clarify, the name of that pesky black, white and grey goose!

Re: Canada

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:01 pm
by LukeJavan8
They make home, among other places, in the creek behind
my house.

Re: Canada

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:10 pm
by Slava
Here are a few legends, true and false, about Canada: http://www.snopes.com/info/lists/canada.asp

No word on the origin of loon, but there is on looney and how it came about.

Re: Canada

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:36 am
by gwray
Source of "dominion" for Canada comes from Psalms 72:8 - He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

Re: Canada

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:36 am
by Philip Hudson
Psalms 72 was written by David and is taken to describe his successor, Solomon. Solomon didn't live up to expectations and Christians consider it to be a Messianic Psalm. I fail to see any reference to the Dominion of Canada in this Psalm.

Re: Canada

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:50 am
by Slava
As I understand it, the territories of Britain were all called dominions, because of British dominion over them. Hence, the Dominion of Canada.

My brother went to Old Dominion. For waggish reasons I renamed it Old Dumb Onion.

Just for fun, here's an article from CNN titled 10 things Canada does better than anywhere else.

Re: Canada

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:15 pm
by LukeJavan8
I've noticed TV shows like "Flashpoint", "Rookie Blue", et.al.,
are made in Toronto. The skyline is that city. Also cops
have a crown on their epaulets, as they give fealty to
Elizabeth II as head of state. Many Disney channel shows
are filmed in Canada, as a devotee of reading the 'credits',
it is there all the time.

Re: Canada

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 7:16 am
by gwray
Philip: I am not suggesting that David had fore knowlege of Canada or that the Psalm was in some way prophetic. I am merely indicating that the psalm served as an inspiration for those who were debating a name for this new creation. Canada's motto "A mari usque ad mare" means "from sea to sea". From its inception, Canada dreamed of uniting the British colonies of North America into a territory which would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the St. Laurence River to the north pole.

Re: Canada

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 11:34 am
by LukeJavan8
It seems to have accomplished its goal.