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October 2008

Uruguay - Where did the name originate?
A little about the origins of the name "Uruguay".

Photo of historic Charrua natives of Uruguay

While it is a widely accepted fact that the country gets its name from the Rio Uruguay, the river that divides Uruguay from Argentina on the west, there are two different stories interpreting the name's origination.

Most historians agree on the theory that "uruguay" was a word used by the Guarani Natives long ago. There was a kind of mussel found in the fresh waters of this river, and the Guarani called this shellfish urugua. So, the river where the mussel was found was also called urugua, or, "river of shellfish".

The other story is that the Guarani Natives called a special bird that lived near the river, uru. the name of the Rio Uruguay, therefore, meant "water where the uru comes from". The Natives aslo had a word, gua, which meant "to proceed from" and "y" which meant "water". Combining the three words spells Uru-gua-y.

The name, however, is appropriate since the country is sorrounded on three sides by water - three rivers and the Atlantic Ocean.

Uruguay's offical name is "La Republica Oriental del Uruguay". The word "Oriental" goes back to the times of the Spanish conquest and the viceroys, when this land was known as the Eastern, or Oriental bank, of the Uruguay River.

 

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