# What does Amazon mean to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612 "2010-06-10T02:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/1 "2010-06-10T02:40:02Z")
If you see the word Amazon with no context what is the primary concept you would have? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/2 "2010-06-10T02:45:22Z")
The context when I surf the internet is a site I have blocked ads from. I can’t say I’d think of the seller site first if I wasn’t online. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/3 "2010-06-10T03:00:32Z")
If it is the Amazon I think of the river. Just the word Amazon I think of the web site. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/4 "2010-06-10T03:16:40Z")
I almost put “other” since I don’t even think of them as primarily a book seller, so much as an everything-seller… but I voted for the second option in the end. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/5 "2010-06-10T03:17:08Z")
I know as of today that the answer is definitely the online seller. There’s a headline with a picture of a jeep and some deer “Tragic reality about the Amazon” and my first thought was “what do deer and jeeps have to do with…oh.” ---
**Author:** ![Parthol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dec6dc/32.png) [@Parthol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parthol)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/6 "2010-06-10T03:42:32Z")
I confess I voted “other” because I figured the capitalization would matter. “Amazon” = bookseller “amazon” = female warrior …but about five seconds after I clicked, it occurred to me that Amazon warriors would be capitalized anyway. :smack: So, my “other” vote should probably be a “bookseller” vote instead. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/7 "2010-06-10T04:04:19Z")
It will always mean, to me, a tall, beautiful woman with massive breasts, like Linda Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/8 "2010-06-10T04:55:03Z")
Free two-day shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/9 "2010-06-10T05:12:45Z")
I first think of the river and the jungle. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/10 "2010-06-10T06:38:13Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Free two-day shipping. This. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/11 "2010-06-10T07:33:58Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > It will always mean, to me, a tall, beautiful woman with massive breasts, like Linda Carter. … with ONE massive breast. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/12 "2010-06-10T08:38:39Z")
Woah, woah, woah, what “no context”? The OP has context. The way it’s written in the OP, an online bookseller. Without the cap, a member of a mythological tribe of female warriors. With extra words (“river”, “basin”), a geographical feature. Just for kicks: in Spanish those are Amazon, las amazonas and el Amazonas (or la cuenca del Amazonas, for the basin) Three different words! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/13 "2010-06-10T09:59:23Z")
I buy 70% of my goods from Amazon, not just books. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/14 "2010-06-10T11:00:00Z")
The online shop, unequivocally, but only because in German the river is _Amazonas_ and the mythological women are _Amazone_ (sg)/_Amazonen_ (pl) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/15 "2010-06-10T11:10:31Z")
“Amazon” - the vendor. “The Amazon” - the river. “An Amazon” - a female warrior. It’a actually pretty simple. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/16 "2010-06-10T12:19:28Z")
Not necessarily female warrior, but the more modern sense of a big strong woman. When unmarked. Because Amazonian specifies the river and adjacent region. Dot com after the word specifies the company. Well, when capitalized Amazon suggests more the ancient female warrior, while lowercase amazon suggests more any big strong woman. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/17 "2010-06-10T12:24:26Z")
I think the merchant so strongly that when I saw the thread title, I thought this was going to be somewhere that I could wax semi-eloquently about how big a factor Amazon has become in my shopping for pretty much everything, and how life-changing it would be if it just up and disappeared. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/18 "2010-06-10T12:39:27Z")
30 years ago, a river. 20 years ago, a female warrior. The last 10 years, an online book (etc.) selling company. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/19 "2010-06-10T13:24:55Z")
I mentally cycle through all of them, determining context. Primarily it’s the bookseller, though. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612/20 "2010-06-10T17:54:06Z")
Normally (unless asked the question on an Internet site :dubious:) I think of the great river and basin, and the exploration of it by people like [Percival Fawcett](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Fawcett), surely the toughest bastard to ever walk the planet. Chuck Norris is a pussy by comparison. Read “_The Lost City of Z_” for an excellent account. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-amazon-mean-to-you/542612.md?page=2)