TheAmericas, also known asAmerica,[1] are lands of theWestern Hemisphere, composed of numerous entities and regions variably defined by geography, politics, and culture.
South America—the continent and associated islands of theWestern Hemisphere. It is chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere and lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, southeast of North America.
British West Indies—the islands and territories of the Caribbean under British colonial influence.
Federal Republic of Central America—formerly theUnited Provinces of Central America, a federal republic in Central America from 1823 to 1840 comprising the newly independentSpanish territories: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and (later)Los Altos. In 1838, the federation succumbed tocivil war and dissolved.
Anglo-America—the region of the Americas having significant historical, linguistic, and cultural links toEngland or theBritish Isles, i.e.,Anglophone; often just Canada and the United States.
Latin America—the region of the Americas whereRomance languages derived fromLatin–namelySpanish,Portuguese, and variablyFrench–are officially or primarily spoken. Though French is spoken inQuebec, it is typically not included due to Canada's links to Britain.
Mesoamerica—a region of the Americas extending from central Mexico southeast to Nicaragua and Costa Rica; a term used especially inarchaeology andethnohistory for the region where an array of civilizations had flourished during thepre-Columbian era, and which shared a number of historical and cultural traditions.
Mesoamerican Linguistic Area—asprachbund, or linguistic region, defined as the area inhabited by speakers of a set of indigenous languages which have developed certain similarities as a result of their historic and geographical connections; roughly co-terminate with the archaeological/ethnohistorical Mesoamerica.
Aridoamerica—an archaeological/ethnohistorical regional division, essentially comprising the arid/semi-arid northern portion of present-day Mexico, whose historical peoples are generally characterized by a nomadic existence and minimal reliance on agriculture.
Oasisamerica—an occasionally used archaeological/ethnohistorical term for a (pre-Columbian) cultural region of North America.
^"America."The Oxford Companion to the English Language (ISBN0-19-214183-X). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine ofAmericus, the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512). A claim is also made for the name of Richard Ameryk, sheriff of Bristol and patron of John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), the 16c Anglo-Italian explorer of North America. The nameAmerica first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16c, a name of the western hemisphere, often in the pluralAmericas and more or less synonymous withthe New World. Since the 18c, a name of the United States of America. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..."
^Martin W. Lewis;Karen E. Wigen (1997). "Chapter One, The Architecture of Continents".The Myth of Continents. University of California Press.ISBN0-520-20742-4.
^ab"Middle America",Encyclopædia Britannica, on line. Accessed October 12, 2007.
^abc"Middle America."Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary. Accessed October 11, 2007.
