stylistic:tone
Etymology

It is named after the Congo River whose name is derived from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom which occupied its mouth around the time the Portuguese first arrived in 1483 or 1484. The kingdom's name derived from its people, the Bakongo, an endonym said to mean "hunters" (Kongo: mukongo, nkongo).

During the period when it was colonised by France, it was known as the French Congo or Middle Congo. The Republic of the Congo, or simply Congo, is a distinct country from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as DR Congo. Although they share a similar name, this distinction is essential to avoid any confusion between the two neighboring states. Brazzaville 's name derives from the colony's founder, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazzà, an Italian nobleman whose title referred to the town of Brazzacco, in the Italian comune of Moruzzo in Friuli Venezia Giulia, whose name derived from the Latin Brattius or Braccius, both meaning literally " arm ".