Historical Columbia
From Freepedia
- For the South American country, see Colombia.
Columbia, late 19th century
from a Columbia Records phonograph cylinder package
Columbia is a name used in the English language for many things and places. The name is derived from that of Christopher Columbus. The term "Pre-Columbian" is used for American cultures before the arrival of Columbus and other European explorers.
The name "Columbia" is/was a poetic name for the United States of America, which largely fell out of use in the early 20th century. This was the origin of the name District of Columbia.
Columbia was also a female personification of the USA, similar to the male Uncle Sam and the British female Britannia, often seen in political cartoons through the early 20th century (similar to the illustration at right) and still used by Columbia Pictures, though its current incarnation looks very different.
The term Columbian has been occasionally used as an alternative word for American when referring to someone from the United States, but has not entered general use, not least because of its confusing similarity to Colombian.
References
- Roger Ebert "Movie Answer Man: Hail, Columbia! Mystery solved". Retrieved Aug. 27, 2005.
