# It's from where? **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [May 25, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600 "2023-05-25T21:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/1 "2023-05-25T21:39:51Z")
Let’s start with an example of something whose name derives from a place, although the place is less well known than its namesake. Identify the region it’s named after, then give your suggestion. To begin: RMS Lusitania ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/2 "2023-05-25T21:53:25Z")
Lusitania: The ancient Roman province corresponding to modern-day Portugal. Edam cheese ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/3 "2023-05-25T22:10:42Z")
Edam is a town in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Romaine lettuce ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/4 "2023-05-25T22:15:32Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Edam is a town in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Which is near a dam on the river E, ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/5 "2023-05-25T22:18:33Z")
Romaine lettuce is named after Rome, because it was imported into western Europe by way of that city. Tuxedo. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/6 "2023-05-25T23:37:01Z")
Tuxedo Park, New York, where the story goes that younger members of the Lorillard tobacco family rakishly decided to cut the tails off their formal tailcoats. But according to the Wall Street Journal, the black dinner jacket was commissioned by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, in 1865; he wanted something less formal than a frock coat or cutaway. Paisley. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/7 "2023-05-26T05:32:55Z")
The original Persian droplet-like motif is considered to represent a floral spray combined with a cypress tree, a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity. The East India Company via the ‘silk routes’ brought the textile pattern to Europe in the 18th centuary and it found a particular home in the textile mills of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland. gingham ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/8 "2023-05-26T05:52:21Z")
Either from a Malay word meaning “Separate, divided” or from the town of Guingamp in Brittany, where the fabric may have been made — take your pick. The world of fabrics provides many words of this kind. Calico. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/9 "2023-05-26T05:58:42Z")
Coarse, unbleached and undyed cotton fabric originally from the city of Calicut, India made by weavers known as cāliyans. grog ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/10 "2023-05-26T06:18:02Z")
Bzzt! Infringement! _Grog_, alcoholic drink in general, comes from naval slang _grog_, rum diluted with water for issue to sailors, which is called after _Old Grogram_, the nickname of one Admiral Vernon who ordered the dilution, so called because he habitually wore a cloak made of _grogram_, a coarse blend of silk, mohair and wool stiffed with gum which is relatively water- and wind-resistant, which comes from the French _gros grain_, a large or coarse grain. A fascinating etymology, but no placenames involved anywhere along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/11 "2023-05-26T18:22:06Z")
Nothing new posed on the previous entry, so here’s a two-stage toponym: dollar ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/12 "2023-05-26T18:35:24Z")
> [@Quondam\_Mechanic](#): > > dollar A coin collector question! Comes from the German word thaler, which was the old Austrian currency. guitar ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/13 "2023-05-26T18:41:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > the German word thaler Which means “valley”, specifically one with mines in Joachimsthal in modern Czech Republic. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/14 "2023-05-26T18:42:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > > [@Quondam\_Mechanic](#): > > > > dollar > > A coin collector question! Comes from the German word thaler, which was the old Austrian currency. > > guitar “Thal” is Germanic for “valley”, but Thaler was a contraction of _Joachimsthaler_ = "from Joachim’s Valley, in present day Czech Republic. ETA ninja’d I’m not finding any geographic association for guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/15 "2023-05-26T18:46:07Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I’m not finding any geographic association for guitar. Originally from Greek _kithara_. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/16 "2023-05-26T19:11:25Z")
OK, **Chefguy** , you’re missing the point here. _Kithara_ doesn’t refer to a place. Re-read the OP and post something else! ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/17 "2023-05-26T20:04:31Z")
Slight diversion: I’ve always liked “Battle of the Little Bighorn” for its incredibly long chain of what it’s named for… ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/18 "2023-05-26T20:57:35Z")
whoops… ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/19 "2023-05-26T21:00:28Z")
_sigh_ I think less than half the posts so far conform to the OP’s idea for a game: answer the implied puzzle of the previous post by supplying the place that corresponds to the toponym, then pose one of your own. Should we give up on this? I still like the idea. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/20 "2023-05-26T21:03:19Z")
Here’s a good one: Cerasum (latin), an ancient Roman town in what’s now Turkey. It’s now called Giresun. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600.md?page=2)