Demerara

Meanings

Proper Noun

• The Demerara River, a river which rises in the rainforests of Guyana and flows north to the Atlantic Ocean, which the country's capital of Georgetown is situated on.
• region Guyana (country) in South America (continent), Essequebo en Demerary (Essequibo and Demerara), formerly a Dutch (later British) colony, located around the lower courses of this river.

Noun

• A type of natural, unrefined or partially refined cane sugar, which is light brown in colour, particularly used in pastries and biscuits like shortbread.
• A dark rum, made in Guyana using molasses and this sugar, mainly used for blending.

Origin

• The placename derives from an word. Perhaps Malali ("fast running stream"), which would have originally been the name of a section of rapids, from which the Dutch called the whole river de Malali ("the Malali"), which (with incorporation of the definite article into the name, and alternation of l and r) became Demerara. Alternatively, perhaps Immenary or Dumaruni meaning “river of the letterwood”. The sugar is so-called because it was grown in the region around the river.