Bechuanaland

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A former British protectorate in Southern Africa that existed from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century ; a historical region named for the Tswana people, now part of modern Botswana ; the colonial territory administered by Britain before Botswana's independence
2. A territory in Southern Africa once governed by British authorities, known as a protectorate during colonial times ; a geographic area associated with the Tswana ethnic group, which later became Botswana ; a former administrative region under British colonial rule before achieving sovereign statehood
3. A colonial-era protectorate located in Southern Africa that later became an independent nation ; a land inhabited primarily by the Tswana people and named to reflect their presence ; an area controlled by Britain as part of its imperial holdings before the emergence of Botswana as a country

Etymology: Bechuanaland takes its name from the Tswana people, whose name for themselves was Bechuana in the older anglicised spelling, and the suffix "-land" simply means the territory of those people. The word therefore reads literally as "Bechuana land," a plain geographic label attached to a region rather than a coined or metaphorical name. The "-land" element is an old and ordinary part of English. It descends from the Old English "land," which goes back to Proto-Germanic "landą," and in English compounds it has long marked a place or country named after a people or group. Placing it after a group name produces the same pattern seen in words for other nations and regions. The name was applied to the British-administered territory in southern Africa, which later became the independent state of Botswana. Under that name the region was a protectorate, and the word survives mainly as a historical term for that colonial territory.

Synonyms: Botswana