Belize
/bəˈliːz/- a country on the Caribbean coast of Central America; pop. 307,900 (est. 2009); languages, English (official), Creole, Spanish; capital, Belmopan. Former name (until 1973) BRITISH HONDURAS.伯利兹（中美洲加勒比海岸国家; 2009年估计人口307,900; 讲英语［官方语言］、克里奥语、西班牙语; 首都贝尔莫潘; 1973年前称英属洪都拉斯）。
Proclaimed as a British Crown Colony in 1862, Belize became an independent Commonwealth state in 1981. Guatemala, which bounds it on the west and south, has always claimed the territory on the basis of old Spanish treaties, although in 1992 it agreed to recognize the existence of Belize.
派生词
Belizean
（亦作Belizian）adjective & noun词源
named after a river with a Mayan name meaning 'muddy water'.