Editing Limburg (Netherlands) (section)

== Etymology ==
Limburg's name derives from the [[Belgium|Belgian]] fortified town of the same name, [[Limbourg-sur-Vesdre]], now in the nearby [[Liège Province]], immediately south of Limburg. The name of Limbourg-sur-Vesdre was important to the region because it had been the seat of the medieval [[Duchy of Limburg]]. 

There are several proposals concerning the etymology of Limbourg. The second part, "bourg" or "burg" is common in placenames, and refers to a fortified town. The first part is often suggested to refer to lime or linden trees (species of ''[[Tilia]]''). The historian Jean-Louis Kupper has proposed that its founder [[Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine]] named it after [[Limburg Abbey]] in Germany. He favours a derivation from a Germanic word "lint" meaning "dragon".<ref name="Kup">Jean-Louis Kupper (2007) Les origines du duché de Limbourg-sur-Vesdre", ''Revue belge de Philologie et d'Histoire'' Année 85-3-4 pp. 609-637 [http://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2007_num_85_3_5096] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602063407/https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2007_num_85_3_5096|date=2018-06-02}}</ref>

[[File:3limburgen.png|thumb|160px|left|Map showing the two contemporary provinces called "Limburg" as well as the medieval duchy they are both named after. The small overlap is Teuven and Remersdaal, two villages in the eastern part of [[Voeren]], a municipality in Belgian Limburg since 1977.]]
The area under the direct lordship of the old Duchy did not overlap the modern Belgian and Dutch provinces named after it, though the medieval Duchy was a high status title in the region. On the other hand, while the Duchy's effective power was limited, the Duchy and what is now [[South Limburg]] (referred to as the ([[Lands of Overmaas]]) did have a long history of connection under the lordship of the [[Dukes of Brabant]]. During this long period, from the [[Middle Ages]] until the [[French Revolution]], they were sometimes referred to collectively under one name (Overmaas or Limburg).

After 1794, it was the French Republic which unified the region, along with Belgian Limburg, and removed all ties to the old feudal society (the ''[[ancien regime]]''). The new name, as with all the names of the ''[[départements]]'', was based on natural features such as rivers, in this case [[Meuse-Inférieure]] or Neder-Maas ("Lower Meuse"). 

After the defeat of Napoleon, the newly created [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] desired a new name for this province. It was decided that the historic connection to the duchy of Limburg was to be restored, albeit only in name.