demerara

Origin

The placename derives from an Arawak 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.