Ask Clay: Here's how Holland and the Netherlands lead you to the Dutch

Clay Thompson
The Republic |
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These windmills are in Kinderdijk, a village in the  South Holland province of the Netherlands.

Today’s question:

Citizens of Germany are Germans, of France, French; Mexico, Mexicans; America, Americans. Why "Dutch" for people from a country with two perfectly good names, Holland and the Netherlands?

Did you know that 150 years ago the average resident of the Netherlands was 3 inches shorter than the average American, but since then have grown about 8.5 inches and now are among the world’s tallest people?

That’s interesting, don’t you think? But it really doesn’t have anything to do with today’s question.

The Dutch thing goes back to when people who spoke Germanic languages were referred to as Dutch. In Old English “dutch” meant “people or nation.” Hence, Deutschland today for Germany.

A Hollander refers to someone from the two western provinces of North and South Holland, including Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam. Holland comes from holtlands, which meant woodlands. People from the north, east and south are Nederlanders, or lowlanders. Some residents of those areas can be very offended if you mix them up.

Today the whole area is referred to as The Netherlands and, at least in English, its residents and language are still called Dutch.

Who removes road kill and how do they know where to find them?

It depends on who gets there first.

Vultures, ravens, beetles, ants or other scavenging creatures use sight or smell to find a meal.

The rest of us rely on road crews that find such stuff through reports from citizens or law enforcement agents or during maintenance.

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