G.), "Bay, cove, inlet, retreat," etc., literally "Widgeon Bay." "Situate on the bay of Merechkawick," is entered on map of 1646 in Stiles' "History of Brooklyn." Merica was the Mayan name of the American Continent. It is spread all over South America and was applied to many objects as in the Latinized Mereca Americani. The early Dutch navigators were no doubt familiar with it in application to the Widgeon, a species of wild duck, and employed it in connection wi'th the word -wijk. Until between 1645 ^^^ 1656, the Indians residing on the west end of Long Island were known as Marechkawicks ; after 1656 they were called Canorise. (See Canar'sie.) Brooklyn is from Dutch Breukelen, the name of a village about eighteen miles from Amsterdam. It means "Broken land." (Breuk.) On Van der Donck's map the name is written correctly. A record description reads: "There is much broken land here."

Manette, so written of record -- "near Mannato hill," about thirty miles from Brooklyn and midway between the north and south sides of the island -- has been interpreted from its equivalent, 'Wallabout Bay takes its first name from Dutch Waal, "gulf, abyss/' etc., and Bochf, "bend," It was spoken of colloquially by the early Dutch as "The bay of the foreigners,"' referring to the Walloons who had settled on the north side of the bay in 1625. The first white child, Sarah Rapelie, born in New Netherland, now the State of New York, was born here June 17th, 1625.