Etymology
Saint-Pierre is French for Saint Peter, who is a patron saint of fishermen.
The present name of Miquelon was first noted in the form of "Micquelle" in the Basque sailor Martin de Hoyarçabal's navigational pilot for Newfoundland. It has been claimed that the name "Miquelon" is a Basque form of Michael, but it appears that this is not a usual form in that language. Many Basques speak Spanish as well as Basque, and Miquelon may have been influenced by the Spanish name Miguelón, an augmentative form of Miguel meaning "big Michael".
The adjoining island's name of "Langlade" is a said to be an adaptation of "l'île à l'Anglais" (Englishman's Island).
Read more about this topic: Saint Pierre And Miquelon
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)