Champagne, Anyone? And Other Toponyms

A toponym is a word named after its place of origin, for example, Champagne from Champagne, France. Here are more:

Arabian – from Arabia (horse breed)

Denim – Nimes, France (fabric)

Bikini – Bikini, Atoll, Marshall Islands

 India ink – from India (black pigment, originally from China but routed via India)

Turkey – from Turkey (bird misnamed by European explorers; they are actually from North America.)

Muslin – from Mosul, Iraq (fabric)

Calico – from Calicut (Kozhikode), India (textile pattern)

Canary – from Canary Islands (bird, named after dogs “canis” rather than birds)

Limerick – from Limerick, Ireland (poem form)

Manhattan – from Manhattan, New York City (cocktail)

Neapolitan – from Naples, Italy (ice cream style or pizza)

Corset – from Corsica, France (debated origin, linked to French fashion)

Yorkshire pudding – from Yorkshire, England (British dish and not really pudding at all)

Viennese waltz – from Vienna, Austria

And there are many more. But let’s talk dogs! It is difficult to think of any breed of dog that isn’t named for its place of origin:

Australian Shepherd

German Shepherd

English Bulldog

French Bulldog

Irish Setter

English Spaniel

Rhodesian Ridgeback

Great Dane

St, Bernard from the Great St. Bernard Pass in Switzerland

Boston Terrier

Chihuahua from Chihuahua, Mexico

Pomeranian from Pomerania, a region spanning modern-day Poland and Germany

Labrador

Afghan Hound

Belgian Malinois

Rottweiler from Rottweil Germany

Newfoundland

Alaskan Malamute

French Poodle

Italian Greyhound

Dalmation from Dalmatia, Croatia

Welsh Corgi

Lhasa Apso from Lhasa Tibet, now China

Maltese from Malta

Siberian Husky

Pekingese

Scottish Terrier or Scottie

And I know there are more!