Where did English get the word "Germany" from Deutschland?

Question

I've been planning a vacation and this question seemingly popped into my mind.

Does it have to do with Germania? But then why did we use Germania? I know why the French and Spanish use Allemagne/Alemania.

Answer 1

When the Romans referred to Germania, they meant the region occupied by a tribe called the Germani. If the tribe migrated to fresh pastures then the borders of Germania shifted. During the 16th century English people started applying this name to the place where the Germani used to live

So, why did they call themselves Germani (or something like it)? Opinions vary. Some say that its root meaning is "neighbor" or "relative". That is, they were "neighbors" or "relatives" to the Celts (compare the Old Irish word gair "neighbor"). While we are on the subject of relatives, there is a word germane (often spelled germain but originally spelled german) which means "appropriate" or "relevant". It once meant "brother" or "close relative" and is related to the Spanish hermano "brother". In Middle English, a cousin-german was a "first-cousin".

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Answer 2

Julius Caesar used "Germani" to designate a group of tribes living in northeastern Gaul. Presumably, they were called that by the Celts, who used the word garim for "to shout" and gair to mean "neighbor".

Ever have neighbors living above you? Noisy, weren't they?

The members of those tribes called themselves Deutsch, or something pretty close to that. Today Deutschland means "low land" because the land was low.

If you study languages much, you will find that most people call themselves a word that means "great and glorious, really fine people" and call others a word that means "dirty rotten lying cheating scoundrels".

I have a German Shepherd. In World War I, there was a lot of anti-German sentiment, and names changed. Coleslaw became Liberty Cabbage, German Shepherds became Alsatians, the city of Syracuse NY banned the playing of Pinochle, and the German-American Bank of Fort Wayne, Indiana became Lincoln National Bank.

Here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The plain sects came from all over Europe, though mostly from Alsace-Lorraine, when the religious teachings of Jakob Amman led to persecution in Europe.

Answer 3

Around here we have PA Dutch, which is the same thing as German.