Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
literally "January River," named by explorer Amerigo Vespucci because he discovered it on Jan. 1, 1502, and so called because he incorrectly thought the bay was the estuary of a large river. See January.
Wikipedia
Rio de Janeiro (; ; River of January), or simply Rio, is the second-most populous municipality in Brazil and the sixth-most populous in the Americas. The metropolis is anchor to the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, the second-most populous metropolitan area in Brazil and sixth-most populous in the Americas. Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's third-most populous state. Part of the city has been designated as a World Heritage Site, named "Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea", by UNESCO on 1 July 2012 as a Cultural Landscape.
Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a domain of the Portuguese Empire. Later, in 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil, a state of the Portuguese Empire. In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court transferred itself from Portugal to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro became the chosen seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal, who subsequently, in 1815, under the leadership of her son, the Prince Regent, and future King João VI of Portugal, raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves. Rio stayed the capital of the pluricontinental Lusitanian monarchy until 1822, when the War of Brazilian Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonising country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as the capital of the independent monarchy, the Empire of Brazil, until 1889, and then the capital of a republican Brazil until 1960 when the capital was transferred to Brasília.
Rio de Janeiro has the second largest municipal GDP in the country, and 30th largest in the world in 2008, estimated at about R$343 billion (IBGE, 2008) (nearly US$201 billion). It is headquarters to Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies, including two of the country's major corporations— Petrobras and Vale—and Latin America's largest telemedia conglomerate, Grupo Globo. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second-largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific output according to 2005 data.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, Carnival, samba, bossa nova, and balneario beaches such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. In addition to the beaches, some of the most famous landmarks include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable car; the Sambódromo (Sambadrome), a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world's largest football stadiums.
Rio de Janeiro is the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics—the first time a South American and a Portuguese-speaking country will host these events, and the third time the Olympics will be held in a Southern Hemisphere city. The Maracanã Stadium held the finals of the 1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the XV Pan American Games.
The Rio de Janeiro (Bahia) is a river of Bahia state in eastern Brazil.
Rio de Janeiro is a station on Line A of the Buenos Aires Underground.
Rio de Janeiro may refer to:
- Rio de Janeiro, a city in Brazil
- Rio de Janeiro (state), a state of Brazil
- Greater Rio de Janeiro, the metropolitan area of the city in Brazil
- a former name for Guanabara Bay
- Rio de Janeiro (Bahia), a river in the state of Bahia, Brazil
- Río de Janeiro (Buenos Aires Metro), a metro station in Buenos Aires
- Protocol of Rio de Janeiro, 1942 international agreement
Rio de Janeiro (ship) may refer to:
- Brazilian battleship Rio de Janeiro, two battleships
-
, two cargo ships
- Brazilian ironclad Rio de Janeiro
- Brazilian landing ship Rio de Janeiro (G31)
- Rio de Janeiro Maru ( or ), Imperial Japanese Navy submarine tender
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil. It has the second largest economy of Brazil, with the largest being that of the state of São Paulo.
The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast (assigned by IBGE). Rio de Janeiro shares borders with all the other states in the same Southeast macroregion: Minas Gerais ( N and NW), Espírito Santo ( NE) and São Paulo ( SW). It is bounded on the east and south by the Atlantic Ocean. Rio de Janeiro has an area of 43,653 km². Its capital is the city of Rio de Janeiro, which was the capital of the Portuguese Colony of Brazil from 1763 to 1815, of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves from 1815 to 1822, and of independent Brazil from 1822 to 1960.
The state's 20 largest cities are Rio de Janeiro, São Gonçalo, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Niterói, Campos dos Goytacazes, Belford Roxo, São João de Meriti, Petrópolis, Volta Redonda, Magé, Macaé, Itaboraí, Cabo Frio, Angra dos Reis, Nova Friburgo, Barra Mansa, Teresópolis, Mesquita and Nilópolis.
Rio de Janeiro is the smallest state in the Southeast macroregion and one of the smallest in Brazil. It is, however, the third most populous Brazilian state, with a population of 16 million of people in 2011 (making it the most densely populated state in Brazil and the third longest coastline in the country (after those of the states of Bahia and Maranhão).
In the Brazilian flag, the state is represented by the Beta star in the Southern Cross (β = Mimosa).
Usage examples of "rio de janeiro".
It is likely that in Rio de Janeiro alone that the death toll will exceed 25,000 souls.
Shortly after departing Rio de Janeiro, the starboard engine broke down and the chief engineer reported it could not be repaired until they reached port in Baltimore.
Montalband, manager, Rio Othon Palace, Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro.
Stay right where you are, or so help me God I'll send a legion of hobgoblins after you, every filthy little spirit I trafficked with in Rio de Janeiro!
He got a strange feeling sitting in the softly upholstered seat of the Martin (every time they landedfirst at Caracas, Venezuela, and then at Belem and Rio de Janeiro in Brazilthe crisp linen head cloths of the seats were replaced, and the ashtrays emptied) computing time and distance with the same watch he'd used when he had to wonder if he had enough gas to bring his Grumman Wildcat back to Midway or Henderson.
Set out from Rio de Janeiro on February 16, 1918, bound for Baltimore, Maryland.
Well, there was a man named Juiz de Paz, who owned a small shop, and used to go down now and then to Rio de Janeiro to buy goods.
They usually have seatspeople get off in Rio de Janeiro, and there are few people who fly from Rio to Buenos Aires.
Now this idiot is suggesting I fly north to Rio de Janeiro to try to get a seat on tomorrow's plane, which is the same one I didn't want to board in Miami.