Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva (rarely Leman Lake, French: Lac Léman or Lac de Genève) is the second largest freshwater lake in central Europe (after Lake Balaton), divided between 2/5 France (Haute-Savoie) and 3/5 Switzerland (cantons of Vaud, Geneva, and Valais).

Name

The first recorded name of the lake is Lacus Lemannus from Roman times; it became Lacus Lausonius, Lacus Losanetes and then the Lac de Lausanne in the Middle Ages. Following the rise of Geneva it became Lac de Genève (also translated into English as Lake Geneva). In the 18th century, Lac Léman was revived in French. It is usually called Lac de Genève in Geneva and Lac Léman elsewhere. Certain maps name the lake the Lac d'Ouchy (after the port located on the Lausanne lake shore).

Related Topics:
Roman - Middle Ages - 18th century

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A note on pronunciation (in IPA) —

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: English: Lake Geneva {{IPA|/leɪk dʒə'ni:və/}}

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: French: Lac Léman {{IPA|/lak le'mɑ̃/}} or Lac de Genève {{IPA|/lak də ʒe'nɛv/}}

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: German: Genfersee {{IPA|/'gɛnfərˌze:/}}

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: Italian: Lago Lemano, Lago di Ginevra {{IPA|/'lago di dʒi'nevra/}}.

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