English 'Amsterdam' is from Dutch, meaning 'dam on the Amstel' — the Amstel river name likely means 'watery place' in Old Dutch, and the dam that gave the city its name stood where Dam Square is today.
The capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, situated where the Amstel River meets the IJ.
English 'Amsterdam' is borrowed directly from Dutch 'Amsterdam', a transparent compound meaning 'dam on the Amstel river'. The city originated as a fishing village where a dam was built across the Amstel river in the late 12th or early 13th century. The name is documented as 'Amestelledamme' in a 1275 toll charter. The river name 'Amstel' likely derives from Old Dutch *aeme-stelle meaning 'area with much water' — from *aeme (water) and *stelle (place, position). The 'dam' element is from Proto-
Dam Square, the central square of Amsterdam, marks the exact spot where the original dam across the Amstel stood. The city's name is thus a perfect description of its founding moment: a dam on a river. The same '-dam' suffix appears in Rotterdam (dam on the Rotte) and several other Dutch cities.