Last revision: May 27, 2019
This list consists of widely-used words which are derived from names of places, but not obviously so. Charles Turner and James Landau contributed to this page.
| WORD | NAMED FOR |
|---|---|
| AIREDALE | Airedale, valley of the Aire River, England |
| AKITA | Akita, Japan |
| ANGORA | Angora, now called Ankara, Turkey |
| ARMAGEDDON | perhaps from Megiddo, Palestine |
| ASCOT | Ascot Heath, a racetrack near Ascot, England |
| BALACLAVA | Balaclava, Crimea |
| BAYONET | Bayonne, France |
| BEDLAM | for Bedlam, the popular name for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, an insane asylum |
| BIBLE | Byblos, ancient Phoenician city from which papyrus was exported |
| BIKINI | Bikini Atoll of the Marshall Islands |
| BOLOGNA | Bologna, Italy |
| BUGGER | Bulgaria |
| CALICO | Calicut, a city in the state of Kerala in India |
| CANARY | Canary Islands |
| CANTALOUPE | Cantalupo, Italy |
| CAPRI PANTS | Capri, Italy |
| CASHMERE | Cashmere, region of India |
| CHAMPAGNE | Champagne, France |
| CHANTILLY LACE | Chantilly, France |
| CHARLESTON | Charleston, S. C. |
| CHEDDAR CHEESE | Cheddar, Somersetshire, England |
| CHIHUAHUA | Chihuahua, a state in Mexico |
| COACH | Kocs, Hungary |
| CONESTOGA | Conestoga, Pennsylvania |
| COPPER | (see note below) |
| CORDOVAN | Córdoba, Spain |
| DAIQUIRI | Daiquirí, Cuba |
| DALMATIAN | Dalmatia, a region in the western Balkan Peninsula |
| DENIM | Nīmes, France |
| DOLLAR | Joachimsthal (now Jáchymov), Bohemia, where a coin minted was called a thaler |
| DUFFEL BAG | Duffel, Belgium |
| DUMDUM | Dum Dum, near Calcutta, India |
| DUNGAREE | (see note below) |
| EBOLA VIRUS | Ebola River, Zaire |
| FEZ | Fez, Morocco |
| FIG NEWTON | Newton, Massachusetts |
| FRANKFURTER | Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
| HAMBURGER | Hamburg, Germany |
| INDIGO | ultimately for India |
| JALAPENO | Jalapa, Mexico |
| JEANS | Genoa, Italy |
| JURASSIC | Jura mountain range |
| LACONIC | Laconia |
| LANDAU | Landau, Bavaria, Germany |
| LESBIAN | Lesbos, island in Greece |
| LIMBURGER (CHEESE) | Limburg, Belgium |
| LIMERICK | Limerick, Ireland |
| LIMOUSINE | Limousin, France |
| LYME DISEASE | Lyme, Connecticut |
| MADRAS | Madras, India |
| MAGENTA | Magenta, Italy |
| MANX CAT | Isle of Man |
| MARATHON | Marathon, Greece |
| MAYONNAISE | Mahón, seaport of Minorca, perhaps |
| MEANDER | ultimately, Maiandros (now Menderes) River in Turkey |
| MILLINER | Milan, Italy |
| MOCHA | Mocha, Yemen |
| NEAPOLITAN | Naples, Italy |
| PAISLEY | Paisley, Scotland |
| PARCHMENT | Pergamum |
| PEACH | Persia (ultimately) |
| PHEASANT | Phasis River in the country of Georgia |
| PILSNER | Pilsen, Czech Republic |
| POMERANIAN | Pomerania |
| ROTTWEILER | Rottweil, Germany |
| QUONSET HUT | Quonset Point, Rhode Island |
| RUGBY | Rugby School, Rugby, England |
| SATIN | Zaytun, seaport in China during the Middle Ages, probably |
| SCALLION | Ashkelon, Palestine |
| SERENDIPITY | Serendip, an od name for Sri Lanka |
| SHERRY | Xeres (Now Jerez), Spain |
| SODOMY | Sodom, Palestine |
| SOLECISM | Soloi, city in ancient Cilicia where a substandard form of Attic was spoken |
| SPA | Spa, Belgium |
| SOLFERINO | Solferino, Italy |
| STRONTIUM | Strontian, village in Scotland |
| SUEDE | Sweden |
| TANGERINE | Tangier, Morocco |
| TARANTULA | Taranto, Italy |
| TURQUOISE | Turkey (actually, “Turkish”) |
| TUXEDO | Tuxedo Park, New York |
| VAUDEVILLE | valley of Vire, town in France |
| WIENER | Vienna, Austria |
| YTTRIUM | Ytterby, Sweden (the elements Erbium, Terbium, and Ytterbium are also named for this village) |
Copper. According to MWCD11, the word comes from Cyprus. However, the Wikipedi article about Cyprus says that one theory of the origin of the name of the country is from the word copper.
Dungaree. Several dictionaries say this word comes from Dungri, a district of Mumbai, although most dictionaries seem not to give this.