We know that the original meaning of ‘America’ is South America, and that any different meaning is a subsequent change. The 1507 map is incontrovertible proof of this.

Meaning!? Cosmographia Introduction published in 1507 along with the map explains that the name America was coined for the entire New World, the Fourth Part of the World. If the name ever had any meaning it is "The lands of Amerigos."

America/The New World today hosts 35 independent countries. One of which is the United States.

What's incontrovertible is that the United States and America are not one and the same. The United States is of America not itself America.

Just be honest with your self. You are misinterpreting facts to fit a conclusion that justifies misrepresenting the United States as America in an effort to justify the misconception/usage of the term American as if it were a nationality. It's called backwards reasoning.

You are wrong. Look at the map. The name ‘Parias’ is there and it labels North America. The name ‘America’ only appears over South America, and there is absolutely no indication that this name extends to Parias.

If Parias is part of America (as it was understood at that time), then why is it labeled Parias and not America? If Parias is part of America, then why did Waldseemüller’s follower, Johannes Schöner, say: "The island of Parias, which is not a part or portion of the foregoing [America]....”

You think you know better than the map, Waldseemüller, Ringmann, and Schöner? You don’t. Stick to the facts and keep your ill-informed agenda out of it.

Of course, in English and many other languages, as we all know, the vastly more common meaning of ‘America’ is the United States of America.

Are you sure? I think only in English the imperialist meaning prevails. In German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Spanish (the second language with most native speakers), America is one continent.

But what about if someone had changed the original meaning of the word in order that the word could mean something else. However, if we call the original meaning of the word "America" we all know is to name the new world, the continent of America. Don't you think that meanings of words change because people change their meanings? So if this is the case, then someone in the United States started to change the word "America" to adapt it to the name of the country. IF this is the case, then one can see how this issue is very heated among Americans not from the United States.

I’m confused. Even though the first known use of the word ‘America’ is on the Waldseemüller map of 1507, and that map clearly shows that ‘America’ refers to South America, you are saying that ‘America’ originally referred to all of the Americas? How does this make sense?

Well, the Europeans during the age of discovery in the new world were actively navigating into new territory as they were also drawing maps with the information from cartographers and navigators as it came available. So, they name "America" what they already had at hand but they probably knew that there was more to what they had. Thus, the name was extended to all of the new world lands including those that were discovered last.

I am not confused by the history. I am confused by your apparent misunderstanding of the history. You agree that the original meaning was South America, right? Because that is what the map clearly shows. The map does not show that Waldseemüller and Ringmann intended for ‘America’ to refer to both North and South America.

Indeed are confused. Where in the then known body of the New World the name America was inked is immaterial. The scope of the name America has always been clear to everyone, The New World. Martin Waldseemuller left no room for doubt.

Our United States were founded in America... hence United States of America.

and if you think it was only meant for the south of America, why is it that the U.S. has been using it? The Germans named it and the rest of the Europeans kept the name to also name the rest of the lands that were being mapped as they discovered them in that part of the world. The new world just grew bigger than expected..lol so they kept using the same name given by the cartographers, America, as the new world, the new continent kept growing. My view is that America is the name of the continent/new world and that the United States used it on its name because they were the United States in the continent of America.

Eric, you are simply wrong. The labeling of the 1507 map proves you wrong. The statement by Waldseemüller's follower, Johannes Schöner, on the nature of Parias, also proves you wrong. We can trust the evidence of the map and Waldseemüller’s follower. Your inaccurate, wishful thinking is only evidence of your ignorance.

Europe and Asia have been divided by a continental division border and that is how that conflict got resolved and in that conflict all of the countries involved accepted the divisory line that they set for it. In America, the situation is a bit different. Here in the continent of America there is no continental division and all countries situated in America have not agreed that it should be divided as two continents. As a matter of fact, there is a bit of an issue with this idea of dividing the continent since most of the countries in America have adopted/accepted the original one continent view.

Re: Different Cultures

Stan, I don't see how this would be a characteristic of dividing America into different continents. There are probably many different cultures within all of America, the continent and if cultures are a characteristic to make up a continent, we would probably have to divide America into 4 or more different continents. For example, Brazil, and Colombia have different cultures, Peru and Argentina have different cultures, Mexico and Canada have different cultures, Belize and Ecuador have different cultures.

Re: Continental plates

If it were for continental plates, America would be 3 or more different continents and part of Russia would be in the same continent as the U.S.A. I don'think this is about continental plates.

Stan: And by the way, United States is a title, by your logic the Republic of Italy should go by the name ROI."

If I am not mistaken, the United States is also a Republic. Its a Federal Republic, I think. Maybe Italy likes to use it on its name but the United States doesn't.

“If the name did not cover all the new lands, like North America, then it would had been given a different name....”

The name (America) did not cover all the new lands, and North America was given a different name (Parias).

Look at the Waldseemüller map of 1507. South America is clearly labeled ‘America’, and North America is clearly labeled ‘Parias’. So ‘America’ has not always referred to all of the Americas. If we have to follow the Waldseemüller map, then it is incorrect to use ‘America’ to name the Americas. If we have to use the original meaning of ‘America’, then only South America is ‘America’.

It was probably named Parias because those lands weren't really known back then. Once the lands were known and mapped, then it was obvious to the cartographers of the day, that the whole landmass was a continent and so since the very first name for that continent was chosen as "America" hence, the rest of the unknown lands, called Parias, became known as America as well.

Then stop calling the United States "America" and start calling it "Parias" and begin a fight with Canada and Mexico because they are also Parias, and let all those truly original Americans (those on the south of the continent) to be happy regaining their continent's name for themselves and not stealed by the US as its unofficial name.

No, thanks. People all over the world will continue to use ‘America’ and ‘American’ to refer to the USA and its citizens. We have become quite accustomed to it. Also, it is such a beautiful word.

And, of course, it has always been an absurd claim that the first meaning of a word is the only “correct” or “true” meaning. It is a common feature of human language that words can and do have multiple meanings. This is obvious. ‘America’ is an example of this. ‘America’ has multiple meanings. Deal with it.

David, the ones who turned it into the new meaning are the humans because they start using the word in a different way. This is what probably happened so the USA began using it to name the country but in no way does this mean that the original meaning of the world would change just because of that. Look at the word "hate". It used to be a really bad action/feeling to hate someone, now is misused and abused so much that the word "hate" is synonym to "Don't like". I dislike the cookies...I hate the cookies. See the change? Just because the people are misusing the word "Hate" does not mean that words like: dislike or not like have seized to exits. But, perhaps this example is not the same as the issue with the name "America" however it is to show how easy it is for a word to be misused and abused by humans where the word looses its original meaning like for example the word "Hate".

“Parias was described by Waldseemüller's follower, Johannes Schöner as: "The island of Parias, which is not a part or portion of the foregoing [America] but a large, special part of the fourth part of the world", indicating uncertainty as to its situation.”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldseemüller_map

They really are like children.

Okay (((Henry Weinstein)))

If you hadn’t noticed The entirety of Europe is smaller than North America... How are those two situations even remotely comparable? But regardless, it’s good to see you cry cause you’ll never be American

A better link: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3200.ct000725C/

THE NAME ‘CUBA’ IS WRONG! WE HAVE TO CALL IT ‘ISABELLA’. THAT IS WHAT THE MAP SAYS!