-ia

[Hildo]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Dear colleagues,
I've been looking for information about the suffix -ia which occurs in names
of lands like ITALIA, GERMANIA, ALBANIA, FRANCIA, ANGLIA, HISPANIA, etc.
Apparently it is associated to the Germanic -land (England, Deutschland,
Lapland, etc.).
Could any of you give information about -ia's etymology? Did it mean
originally something like "the land of..."?
In Brazilian Portuguese it is productive until now, e.g., Brasilia and others.
Please, any information could be sent directly to my private e.mail.
hiho at unb.br
OR
hiho at guarany.cpd.unb.br
With best regards
Hildo Honorio do Couto.