Van Diemen's Land

English

Etymology

After the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Anthony van Diemen, who sent Abel Tasman on the voyage on which Tasman discovered the island.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /væn ˈdiːmənz ˌlænd/

Proper noun

Van Diemen's Land

  1. The former name (until 1856) of the then-British colony and current state of Australia now known as Tasmania.
    • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. []”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. [] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: [] Benj[amin] Motte, [], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), page 5:
      Let it ſuffice to inform him, that in our Paſſage from thence to the Eaſt-Indies, we were driven by a violent Storm to the Northweſt of Van Diemen's Land.

Translations

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.