# 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:** 2
**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, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/21 "2023-05-26T21:25:25Z")
That isn’t one at all. Give us a toponym, like _Lusitania_ in the OP. We have to figure out what comparatively obscure place it refers to and then propose another. _Not_ whatever etymology interests you today (even if it refers to place names). Is that really so hard? ---
**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 26, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/22 "2023-05-26T21:25:43Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > > [@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 Ooh, sorry to continue the hijack, @Quondam_Mechanic, but this is one of my favorite pointless-but-neat factoids: why Americans and Canadians use _dollars_ rather than _pounds_. The early modern counts of Jáchymov discovered silver on their estates, and started minting large silver coins, which they called _Joachimthalers_. These proved popular, and more states in central and northern Europe began minting similar _thalers_. Eventually, the Netherlands began minting their own thalers, called, in Dutch, _daalders_. Since the Netherlands was then under rule of the kings of Spain, the coins spread to Spain, where they became in Spanish _dólares._ By this time, _thaler/daalder/dólar_ had come to mean “any sizeable silver coin”, so the name got applied to the silver _reales_ that the Spanish coined from their colonial silver mines in Mexico and Peru. By the time of the British colonies in the Americas, Spanish dollars were the most widespread form of currency along the eastern seaboard. They were especially popular because they could be cut up into eight “bits”, to use for small change - lack of low-value currency for small transactions was a major hinderance to the American economy at the time. This, by the way, is the origin of the saying “Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar”. By the time of the American revolution, the Spanish dollar was so widespread and familiar that Thomas Jefferson, and others, advocated a policy of pragmatism and simply adopting it as the American currency. Okay, nerd diversion over… > [@bump](#): > > Here’s a good one: > > Cerasum (latin), an ancient Roman town in what’s now Turkey. It’s now called Giresun. I think you’re still missing the point of the game - it’s to post some common noun that has an obscure geographic origin, and let others guess. In that spirit, I’ll offer: dalmatians ---
**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, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/23 "2023-05-26T21:29:07Z")
Dalmatia: a region in Croatia. meander ---
**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 26, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/24 "2023-05-26T21:34:53Z")
The Meander River, in Anatolia. Which does, indeed, meander. cardigan sweater ---
**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 26, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/25 "2023-05-26T22:18:21Z")
A button-down sweater is called a cardigan in honor of James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, who is said to have worn such sweaters, or similar garments. James, incidentally, led (and survived) the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava (1854). His ancestor, Thomas Brudenell, was created first Earl of Cardigan in 1661 by Charles II. Cardigan in that title refers to a town in Wales; I wasn’t able to find why why Thomas was created Earl of Cardigan when his family was from Northamptonshire, which is nowhere near Cardigan. Bialy. ---
**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 27, 2023, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/26 "2023-05-27T00:25:55Z")
You’re right; totally missed the intent of the thread. ::whines:: I’m old and frightened ::end whine:: ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/27 "2023-05-27T00:53:18Z")
A type of [bread] roll, with an indentation in the top, normally filled with onions, poppy seeds, or other yummies, from the town of Białystok in Poland. shiraz ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/28 "2023-05-27T03:05:50Z")
A wine grape named after the Iranian city of Shiraz. Chartreuse ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/29 "2023-05-27T04:45:33Z")
A liqueur brewed by the Carthusian monks at the Abbey of Grande Chartreuse, in northern France; their order’s name is from the Latin version of “Chartreuse”. Raglan sleeves. ---
**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 27, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/30 "2023-05-27T14:17:30Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Raglan sleeves. Named indirectly through a peer (I suspect there will be a lot of those) of the barony of Raglan, in Monmouthshire county in Wales. Pomeranian. ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/31 "2023-05-27T16:01:11Z")
Pomerania is a region in the northeastern part of Germany. Madras ---
**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 27, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/32 "2023-05-27T16:31:27Z")
Madras is a city in eastern India, now called Chennai. Parmesan cheese. ---
**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 27, 2023, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/33 "2023-05-27T20:15:35Z")
Parmesan cheese is named for the Italian province of Parma, where it was first made. Daiquiri. ---
**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 27, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/34 "2023-05-27T22:27:55Z")
The Daiquiri was (supposedly) invented in a bar in the village of Daiquiri, Cuba. The name of the village became well-known during the Spanish-American war. bikini ---
**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 27, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/35 "2023-05-27T22:43:47Z")
> [@Quondam\_Mechanic](#): > > bikini That’s easy: after they set off the hydrogen bomb there, then there was no Bikini at-oll. ---
**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 28, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/36 "2023-05-28T02:22:17Z")
Just to complete the thought: after the first A-bomb test there (H-bomb tests came later), a French designer named his swimsuit design after the atoll. But **Lumpy** : give us one of your own! ---
**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 28, 2023, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/37 "2023-05-28T02:54:25Z")
Oh, right! Lippizaner ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/38 "2023-05-29T01:08:16Z")
A breed of horse, named for Lipica in Slovenia, the location of a stud farm at which they were bred. Florin. ---
**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 29, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/39 "2023-05-29T01:42:10Z")
Originally, a gold coin minted by the city-state of Florence, featuring that city’s fleur-de-lis emblem. Battenberg. ---
**Author:** ![UDS1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47774/32.png) [@UDS1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS1)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600/40 "2023-05-29T02:18:34Z")
A kind of cake, created to celebrate the marriage of Prince Louis of Battenberg with Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine. The Battenberg family takes its name from the town of Battenberg in Hesse. Denim. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-from-where/984600.md?page=3)