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America



America, the 2 major continents of the Western Hemisphere, North and South America (although the name is sometimes used to mean the United States). In 1507 the German geographer Martin Waldseemüller first gave the name to the area that is now Brazil in honor of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who supposedly discovered much of South America.



See also: Vespucci, Amerigo.

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21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Alabama to Anderson, Dame Judith