Zaire(River & Country)Portuguese, English Older name of the Congo River, said to be derived via Portuguese from Kikongo nzadi o nzere meaning "river swallowing rivers". This was also the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Zambezi(River)Chewa, Bemba, Tonga, Shona, English The name of a river in the south of Africa, of uncertain meaning. It could possibly be from the name of the Bisa people of Zambia. According to the explorer David Livingstone it meant "great river".
Zanzibar(Island)Swahili, English From Arabic زنجبار (Zanjibār), from Persian زنگبار (Zangibār), derived from زنگی (zangī) meaning "black, dark-skinned" and بار (bār) meaning "shore, coast". This is the name of an island, part of Tanzania.
Zealand(Country)English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish From Dutch Zeeland, from Middle Dutch Seelant, derived from see "sea" and lant "land". This is the name of a province in the western Netherlands (now typically called Zeeland in many languages). It is also borne by the country of New Zealand in the South Pacific, which was named by the Dutch in the 17th century.
Zeeland(Political Subdivision & Country)Dutch, English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish Dutch form of Zealand. Several other languages, including English, use this spelling to refer to the Dutch province (but not the country of New Zealand).
Zhongguo(Country)Chinese Means "middle kingdom", from Chinese 中 (zhōng) meaning "middle" and 国 (guó) meaning "country, state". This is the Chinese name for China. The name originally referred to China's central regions, as opposed to the territory on the fringes.
Zimbabwe(Country & Settlement)Shona, Ndebele, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian From the Shona language, possibly from dzimba "houses" and ibwe "stone". Great Zimbabwe was an ancient city, falling into ruin in the 15th century. It was located in the country of Zimbabwe, which was named after the ancient city in 1980 when it gained independence from the United Kingdom. It was formerly called Southern Rhodesia by the British.