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The etymology and history of the word America is actually pretty interesting.

You know, relatively speaking, as far as etymology and history of national names goes it's up there

Now we all learned in grade school or should have that the name derives from the Italian explorer Amergo Vespucci.

Shortly after his lifetime the word America came into use in the 1500s.

And it was used in reference to, well that's the interesting part.

What did America mean at the time?

Even asking what America means today is kind of complex and not on some philosophical level.

Commonly it refers to the United States of America.

I am an American. I drive an American car, I drink American whiskey, and I speak American English.

Much more broadly, of course, it refers to everything in the Western Hemisphere, the Americas. Now this dichotomy is just kind of accepted by everyone

in the modern world. You know, when a German talks about Americans, they're not talking

about a Panamanian even though Panama is part of the Americas.

It's in Central America.

Now I know I'm not blowing your mind here, we all get it, but at the time with which we are concerned that was actually kind of a hot question.

See, Margo Vespucci, like Christopher Columbus and a number of other people we're going to talk about today, he was an Italian who sailed for an Iberian power.

Vespucci sailed for both Portugal and Castillo.

So the word America comes down to we English speakers mostly through Spanish,

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