Chad

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Chad

A republic in central Africa, west of SUDAN. Its capital is N'Djamena, called Fort-Lamy before 1973. Explored in 1891 by the French, it became part of French Equatorial Africa in 1910 and, after many changes of status, became independent in 1960. The republic is named from Lake Chad, from the Arabic tsad, a local word meaning large expanse of water (or lake). (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p239, 407 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p104)