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Origin of the Name Argentina
The word Argentina comes from the Latin Argentum, that means “silver”.
The concept had been coined in a Venetian atlas of 1536 and afterwards Martín del Barco Centenera, member of the expedition by Ortíz de Zárate, published in 1602 a long poem about these lands under the title “La Argentina”. Such name was kept in the literature environment, but not at the beginnings of the Nation. The most frequent name given at that time was “Río de la Plata” (Silver River), of an undoubtedly semantic association, established in the previous century with the creation of the “Virreinato” (Viceroyalty) in 1776 and linked to the obligatory route of Potosí cargos towards Spain. After several decades of appearing, silences and alternations with other names, on October 8, 1860 in the city of Paraná, the then President Santiago Derqui ruled the denomination of República Argentina (Argentine Republic), by means of a decree, and afterwards Leiutenant Mitre used the name of President of the Argentine Republic , being established since that time.
The Name Argentina in the National Constitution
The National Constitution sanctioned in 1853 included the denomination of República Argentina in the official names used to designate the government and the territory of the Nation:
Article 35: The denominations adopted successively since 1810 up to date, namely: Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata (United Provinces of the Río de la Plata); República Argentina (Argentine Republic); Confederación Argentina (Argentine Confederation), from now on will be the official names to designate the government and the territory of the provinces, and the words "Nación Argentina" (Argentine Nation) will be used in the redaction and sanctioning of laws.
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