Origin and history of Baja

It could have led them to misidentify Baja California as this mythical land and to mistake it for an island....

c. 1400 as a term in astronomy, "angular distance of a star below the horizon," from Old French depression (14c.) and directly from Medieval Latin depressionem (nominative depressio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin deprimere "to press down, depress" (see depres

c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to,

"art of computation, the most elementary branch of mathematics," mid-13c., arsmetike, from Old French arsmetique (12c.), from Latin arithmetica, from Greek arithmetikē (tekhnē) "(the) counting (art)," fem. of arithmetikos "of or for reckoning, arithmetical," from arithmos "number

late 14c., "horizontal zone of the earth's surface measured by lines parallel to the equator," from Old French climat "region, part of the earth," from Latin clima (genitive climatis) "region; slope of the earth," from Greek klima "region, zone," literally "an inclination, slope,

1580s, in Aristotle's logic, "a highest notion," from French catégorie, from Late Latin categoria, from Greek katēgoria "accusation, prediction, category," verbal noun from katēgorein "speak against; to accuse, assert, predicate," from kata "down to" (or perhaps "against;" see ca

c. 1200, delit, "high degree of pleasure or satisfaction," also "that which gives great pleasure," from Old French delit "pleasure, delight, sexual desire," from delitier "please greatly, charm," from Latin delectare "to allure, delight, charm, please," frequentative of delicere

early 15c., "want or lack of anything," especially lack of something essential to perfection or completeness, from Old French defect and directly from Latin defectus "failure, revolt, falling away," noun use of past participle of deficere "to fail, desert," from de "down, away" (

early 13c., chargen, "to load, put a burden on or in; fill with something to be retained," from Old French chargier "to load, burden, weigh down," from Late Latin carricare "to load a wagon or cart," from Latin carrus "two-wheeled wagon" (see car). The senses of "entrust," "comma

"noisy dance," 1841, Southern U.S., apparently originally the name of a specific dance, perhaps from perceived similarity of dance motions to those of farm chores, hence from hoe (n.). The step of every negro dance that was ever known, was called into requisition and admirably e