Nether means low in English and Nederlands is mostly below sea level, but I wonder why it’s plural?
It’s been changing a bit with British English in a few places. I remember when the Netherlands was more commonly referred to as Holland, which is no longer that common at all anymore.
Netherlands isn’t exact with the native name being Nederlands and is instead more of a “sound-a-like” translation as if we had it spelled in it’s native way you know the lamen would instead just call it the Nedderlands.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
RunawayFixer@lemmy.world 5 days ago
The late medieval Burgundians will have been the first to call it the low countries (les pays-bas). They acquired these territories (various duchies and counties in Belgium + Netherlands + bits around it) over time, not as one piece of land. All those different territories had different laws and traditions, different crown laws (HRE or kingdom of France), different local charters, … It wasn’t one country, so plural makes sense.
dabaldeagul@feddit.nl 5 days ago
It used to be the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. I mean, it still is, but now that refers to everything including Curaçao, Saint Martin, etc
zout@fedia.io 5 days ago
Nederland and Netherlands both mean low country? Low as in Lower Rhine. It has an origin in the Roman name "Germania Inferior".