Hinterland

Recently (12 Nov, see news extract below), Dr Mahathir visited SG, and because he was here, being interviewed by the local media, he said nice things about us.

In particular, he mentioned Malaysia being Singapore's hinterland:

Malaysia and Singapore are like twins, but one is older and bigger than the other: Dr Mahathir
By FARIS MOKHTAR
12 NOVEMBER, 2018
SINGAPORE – On his first official visit to Singapore since becoming Malaysia’s Prime Minister again, Dr Mahathir Mohamad described the two countries as “twins”, although one is "older and bigger" than the other...
“Singapore has got no hinterland but must regard Malaysia as its hinterland. On the other hand, for a very long time, Malaysia had to depend on Singapore for its exports and imports because Singapore has developed into a great port that is comparable to any of the greatest in the world,” he said.

Interesting, I thought.

When Singapore merged with the Federation of Malaysia, we did speak in terms of lacking a hinterland, and needing a hinterland, and how Malaysia would be our hinterland.

Which got me wondering about the etymology of the word, "hinterland".

So I googled. And found:

late 19th century: from German, from hinter ‘behind’ + Land ‘land’.

Right!

"Hinterland" is from German and means "behind land".

Apropos.