Greenland is a large island in the North Atlantic Ocean, mostly covered by ice and owned by Denmark. Despite its name, it is one of the coldest and least green places on Earth.
From Old Norse “Grœnland,” meaning “Green Land.” According to sagas, Erik the Red gave it this pleasant name to attract settlers, even though much of it was icy.
Greenland’s name was early marketing: calling an icy land “green” made it sound welcoming to new settlers. Iceland and Greenland almost seem swapped—icy Greenland, relatively greener Iceland.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.