> > My father told me that the North Sea used to be known as the
>>German Sea, but that that name became unacceptable when
>>Britain and Germany were at war with one another.
>>Richard.
The 1910 Eleventh Ed. Britannica uses "North Sea" regularly,
including for its article on the North Seas Fisheries Convention
of 1882. On the other hand my Robertson's "Elements of
Navigation" (1754 I think -- not sure exactly because half the title
page is torn off) under "principal Seas, Gulfs and Bays in
Europe" lists "The German Ocean, or Sea, between Germany or
Britain". So whatever ill-will toward Germany may have
prompted a name change, it was before Richard's father's time.
Relevant to the other ongoing thread, I'm almost sure I have a
book that, as a warning against false cognates, states that the
word for "dog" in some Australian language is "dog" and then
proceeds to show this is a regular reflex of something that looks
entirely different in *Proto-something. I know I've read it; I've
been looking but can't find it. Frustrating!
Dan Milton