the Netherlands v. Holland v. Dutch

The provinces of the Netherlands. North and South Holland are shown in yellow. The Netherlands is a country in northwest Europe comprising twelve provinces. Holland is the western part of the Netherlands, consisting of the provinces of North Holland and South Holland. Holland contains the largest cities in the Netherlands—Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam. Holland can informally refer to the whole of the Netherlands; this is an example of synecdoche, akin to using England to mean the United Kingdom.

The word Dutch refers to the people and language of the Netherlands, or to anything from or related to the Netherlands.

InternationalStudents.nl on Holland v. the Netherlands

Arctic v. Antarctic

• The Arctic contains the North Pole. It is the area north of the Arctic Circle (66º 33’ north latitude). The Antarctic is the region around the South Pole, up to the Antarctic Circle (66º 33’ south).
• The Arctic consists of an ocean surrounded by land, including parts of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Greenland, Russia, and the United States. By contrast, the Antarctic comprises a continent, (Antarctica), surrounded by ocean.
• Antarctica is the highest continent in the world. This increased elevation makes it much colder and windier than the Arctic.
• The Arctic tundra supports a more diverse range of animals, including polar bears, caribou, muskoxen, wolves, foxes, ermines, hares, and walruses. Penguins make their home in Antarctica. Seals, whales, fish, and birds can be found in both areas.
• Sea ice remains in the Arctic longer than in the Antarctic, making Arctic sea ice thicker on the whole. The continent of Antarctica, however, contains about 90% of the world’s ice.
• While there are a number of sizable cities north of the Arctic Circle, the only permanent human settlements in Antarctica are research stations.
• People have known of the Arctic since prehistoric times, but Antarctica was discovered in 1820.

Composite photograph of the midnight sun taken in Lofoten, Norway.

Adventure-Life.com on Arctic v. Antarctic

Arctic & Antarctic Collection on Arctic v. Antarctic

enclave v. exclave

An enclave is a territory or country that is completely surrounded by a neighboring territory. An exclave is a portion of a country isolated from the main part by surrounding foreign territory.

In Figure 1, C is an enclave of A and an exclave of B. In Figure 2, D is an exclave of B, but, because D doesn’t lie entirely within the borders of A or C, it is not an enclave of either.

It’s possible for a territory to be an enclave but not an exclave, as is the case with Vatican City and Lesotho, an exclave but not an enclave, like Kaliningrad and Alaska, or both, like the Spanish town of Llívia. Even more bizarre nested arrangements are possible: Nahwa is an exclave of the United Arab Emirates located in the Omani territory of Madha. Madha itself is an exclave of Oman, surrounded on all sides by the UAE.

Wikipedia on enclave v. exclave

Wikipedia’s list of enclaves and exclaves

Jan S. Krogh on enclaves and exclaves

crevice v. crevasse

A crevice is a narrow crack, as in a rock or wall.

A crevasse is a deep fissure in a glacier.

Edgar Mueller’s pavement art. Image courtesy of Mail Online.

Russia v. Soviet Union

Russia is the largest country in the world, occupying much of northern Eurasia.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly called the Soviet Union, was a country in Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. Russia was its largest constituent state, but the USSR also comprised modern-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Former members of the Soviet Union. Map courtesy of AllCountries.org.