Re: "Vermont," taken literally, means "Worm Mountain" (was: Re: FW: Indian Summer,...)

[Steve Boatti]

The Vermont state website asserts:

Originally populated by various indigenous peoples of the Algonquin,
Iroquois, and Abenaki nations, the land now known as Vermont was first seen
by European eyes in 1609, when the French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed
the lake that now bears his name. The French must have paid their visits
during the warmer months, for when they gazed upon the mountains that form
the spine of the state, they named them<A HREF="http://mole.uvm.edu/Vermont/GreenMount/"> Les verts monts</A><A HREF="http://mole.uvm.edu/Vermont/GreenMount/">, 17th century French
for the Green Mountains</A>. The name of state capital "Montpelier" also comes
from the French Montpelier which means the "naked mount" (i.e the mount
without trees). As happens with language,<A HREF="http://mole.uvm.edu/Vermont/GreenMount/verdmont.html"> Les verts mont</A><A HREF="http://mole.uvm.edu/Vermont/GreenMount/verdmont.html"> became</A><A HREF="http://mole.uvm.edu/Vermont/GreenMount/verdmont.html"> Verts Mont</A><A HREF="http://mole.uvm.edu/Vermont/GreenMount/verdmont.html">
became Vermont</A>. And as happened with explorers, Champlain claimed all he saw
in the name of France.

Steve Boatti