Editing Uruguay (section)

== Etymology ==<!--linked-->
The country of ''Uruguay'' takes its name from the [[Uruguay River|Río Uruguay]] in the [[Indigenous peoples in Uruguay|Indigenous]] [[Guarani languages|Guaraní]] language. There are several interpretations, including "bird-river" ("the river of the ''[[Spot-winged wood quail|uru]]''", via [[Charruan languages|Charruan]], ''{{lang|gn|urú}}'' being a [[common noun]] for any wild fowl).<ref>{{cite book|title=Revista Del Río de La Plata|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mOexAAAAIAAJ|year=1971|page=285|quote=The word itself, 'Uruguay', is clearly derived from the Guaraní, probably by way of the tribal dialect of the [[Charrúa]]s [...] from ''uru'' (a generic designation of wild fowl)|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=3 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203010230/https://books.google.com/books?id=mOexAAAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Nordenskiöld|first=Erland|author-link=Erland Nordenskiöld|title=Deductions suggested by the geographical distribution of some post-Columbian words used by the Indians of S. America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oaguAAAAYAAJ|year=1979|publisher=AMS Press|isbn=978-0-404-15145-4|page=27|quote=In Paraguay the Guaraní Indians call a fowl ''{{lang|gn|uruguaçú}}''. The [[Cainguá]] in Misiones only say ''{{lang|gn|urú}}''. [...] A few Guaraní-speakiug Indians who call a hen ''{{lang|gn|uruguasu}}'' and a cock ''{{lang|gn|tacareo}}''. ''{{lang|gn|Uruguaçu}}'' means "the big ''{{lang|gn|uru}}''".|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=3 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203010230/https://books.google.com/books?id=oaguAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The name could also refer to a river snail called ''{{lang|gn|uruguá}}'' (''[[Pomella (gastropod)|Pomella]] megastoma'') that was plentiful across its shores.<ref>{{cite news |title=Presentan tesis del nombre Uruguay |trans-title=Thesis on the name Uruguay presented |url=http://www.elpais.com.uy/101008/pciuda-520474/informe/presentan-tesis-del-nombre-uruguay/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314100414/http://www.elpais.com.uy/101008/pciuda-520474/informe/presentan-tesis-del-nombre-uruguay/ |archive-date=14 March 2012 |access-date=21 November 2014 |work=El País |language=es}}</ref>

One of the most popular interpretations of the name was proposed by the renowned Uruguayan poet [[Juan Zorrilla de San Martín]], "the river of painted birds";<ref>{{cite news|date=14 March 2012|title=Presentan tesis del nombre Uruguay|work= Diario El País |department=Montevideo, Uruguay|url=http://www.elpais.com.uy/101008/pciuda-520474/informe/presentan-tesis-del-nombre-uruguay/|access-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314100414/http://www.elpais.com.uy/101008/pciuda-520474/informe/presentan-tesis-del-nombre-uruguay/|archive-date=14 March 2012}}</ref> this interpretation, although dubious, still holds an important cultural significance in the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uruguay, el país de los pájaros pintados despierta la pasión por mirar |trans-title=Uruguay, the land of the painted birds, awakens the passion for watching |url=https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-turismo/comunicacion/noticias/uruguay-pais-pajaros-pintados-despierta-pasion-mirar |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517192540/https://www.gub.uy/ministerio-turismo/comunicacion/noticias/uruguay-pais-pajaros-pintados-despierta-pasion-mirar |archive-date=17 May 2021 |access-date=17 May 2021 |website=Ministerio de Turismo |language=es}}</ref>

In Spanish colonial times and for some time thereafter, Uruguay and some neighboring territories were called ''{{lang|es|[[Banda Oriental]] [del Uruguay]}}'' ("Eastern Bank [of the Uruguay River]"), then for a few years the "[[Provincia Oriental|Eastern Province]]". Since its independence, the country has been known as "''{{lang|es|República Oriental del Uruguay}}''", which literally translates to "''Eastern Republic of the Uruguay'' [River]". However, it is officially translated either as the "''Oriental Republic of Uruguay''"<ref>{{cite web |author=Central Intelligence Agency |title=Uruguay |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |location=Langley, Virginia |year=2016 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uruguay/ |access-date=1 January 2017 |archive-date=16 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216123435/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/uruguay/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/620116/Uruguay|title=Uruguay|access-date=2 September 2008|year=2008|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|archive-date=12 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612043021/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/620116/Uruguay|url-status=live}}</ref> or the "''Eastern Republic of Uruguay''".<ref>"Eastern Republic of Uruguay" is the official name used in many United Nations publications in English, e.g. {{cite book|title=Treaty Series|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4bp3hF2DfMC&pg=RA1-PA118|year=1991|publisher=UN Publications|isbn=978-92-1-900187-9|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=3 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203010230/https://books.google.com/books?id=_4bp3hF2DfMC&pg=RA1-PA118|url-status=live}} & in some formal UK documents, e.g. {{cite book|title=Agreement Between the European Community and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_34BywAACAAJ|year=1974|publisher=[[H.M. Stationery Office]]|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513050932/https://books.google.com/books?id=_34BywAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>