Columbia
pronunciation
How to pronounce Columbia in British English:
UK [kə'lʌmbɪə]
How to pronounce Columbia in American English:
US [kə'lʌmbiə]
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- Noun:
- a North American river; rises in southwestern Canada and flows southward across Washington to form the border between Washington and Oregon before emptying into the Pacific; known for its salmon runs in the spring
- a town in west central Tennessee
- capital and largest city in South Carolina; located in central South Carolina
- a university town in central Missouri
- a university in New York City
Word Origin
- Columbia
- poetic name for United States of America, earlier for the British colonies there, 1730s, also the nation's female personification, from name of Christopher Columbus (also see Colombia) with Latin "country" ending -ia. A popular name for places and institutions in the U.S. in the post-Revolutionary years, when former tributes to king and crown were out of fashion: such as Columbia University (New York, U.S.) founded in 1754 as King's College; re-named 1784. Also District of Columbia (1791, as Territory of Columbia); "Hail, Columbia" (Joseph Hopkinson, 1798), Barlow's "Columbiad" (1809).
Example
- 1. Forty-one states plus the district of columbia have lotteries .
- 2. For twelve years I divided my time between teaching at columbia and doing research at the bureau .
- 3. It 's the distance between battery park and columbia university .
- 4. I had a great interview with admissions at columbia university .
- 5. British columbia follows a similar practice .