From that original colony sprang seven names that still feature on the landscape: Roanoke {which has the distinction of being the first Indian word borrowed by English settlers}, Cape Fear, Cape Hatteras, the Chowan and Neuse Rivers, Chesapeake, and Virginia. {Previously, Virginia had been called Windgancon, meaning "what gay clothes you wear" - apparently what the locals had replied when an early reconnoitering party had asked the place's name.}
( Bill Bryson )
[ Made in America: An Informal ]
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