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Why Sometimes 'the'?

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Captain Spod | 09:50 Thu 08th Sep 2016 | Phrases & Sayings
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Why do or did some countries have the definite article before their name? I don't mean The United States, Republic of Ireland etc. but The Lebanon, The Yemen, The Ukraine, to name just three. We would never say The Canada, The Italy etc. so what is or was the defining factor?
Thanks.
The Captain Spod.
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Not sure I can think of any Sovereign Country prefixed THE.

I don't agree with the three you have listed ?
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Thanks Murdo, that's helpful.
emeritus, you don't agree? A Google search will reveal that the three I mention have all been referred to in that way, also The Gambia, which I had forgotten. Do you mean you don't approve?
Ukraine had 'The' lumped on them by the Russians who considered them to be a possession of Russia. Like we might say The North, or The Scots. Peope in Ukraine didn't use 'The' Ukraine, it was the Masters in Moscow who used it.
Unfortunately the word 'the' does not exist in Russian.
Looking at your other examples, I suspect a similar reason. The 'The' was used when they were being referred to by a colonial master. The people in those countries would never use 'The' themselves.
Yes, but apart from that minor point, Jackdaw... :P
Gambia was originally called The Gold Coast.
Is The being used in a descriptive manner e.g Las Vegas(the plains) and Las Palmas (the palms).Maybe these countries names have a meaning to the natives.
In the case of The Netherlands, that is a shortened version ofits full name, 'The Kingdom of the Netherlands'.

Apparently, only The Bahamas and The Gambia are officially 'The's.
Dannyk

Ukraine means 'Borderlands'. So an English speaker would say 'The Borderlands'.
I think Murdo nailed this in his link.
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Gromit
Netherlands means low lands so in that case we would say The lowlands.
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The Gold Coast is now Ghana.
Islamic Republic of The Gambia.
This is an interesting one. Here in Northern Ireland, I have often heard one side of our formerly divided community complain that the areas which were not perceived as "pro-establishment" were named as "The . . . . " For example, two highly rebellious and republican areas were "The" Ardoyne and "The" Bogside (in Belfast and Derry respectively).
An article in a local (to Belfast) republican newspaper back in the eighties referred to the fact that the visiting/occupying British Army troops always used the definite article when referring to the most troublesome (in their terms this would be the republican) areas of the city, but not when mentioning the (equally troublesome) Protestant areas.
It was suggested that the majority population (ie the Protestant establishment) had in the past given those areas populated by minority individuals this term in order to indicate that they were different in some way from the areas populated by members of the Protestant majority. So areas such as Orangefield (90% Protestant) and Ballybean (98% Protestant) are not named with "The" whereas areas such as "The" Creggan (98% Catholic) and "The" Brandywell (97% Catholic) are referred to using "The".
The suggestion is, therefore, that in Northern Ireland this is a relic from the past when majority members of the society identified minority members by the use of the definite article to describe the group.
This is changing now, of course, as the demographics of the country change. Within Northern Ireland, the Protestant community is no longer a clear majority. The ratio of Catholic/Protestant has in recent years more or less broken even, and before long, there will be a Catholic majority in NI. But the old names for The Ardoyne, The Bogside, The Creggan, The Falls, will take longer to fade.
emeritus - "Not sure I can think of any Sovereign Country prefixed THE". Don't you live in THE UK?
As an aside, if you're going to see a play you go to THE theatre; if you need an operation you're taken "to theatre" ie, no "the". Where's the logic in that.
We go to' The West End' for a night out even though it is part of London.
Eastenders is set in The East End.
Yemen , Ukraine, and Lebanon are normally referred to without a 'The' , in my experience at least. It is just habit.

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