California rosebay
noun
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What Bizarre Error Gave California Its Name?When the Spanish first began exploring the Pacific Coast of North America, they mistakenly believed that California was an island. (Some of the earliest and most fascinating maps of the state depict it as separated from the mainland.) This is considered one of the greatest, albeit short-lived, cartographic errors. Early mapmakers began labeling the “island” as California, the name of a mythical island in a book …
Origin of California rosebay
An Americanism dating back to 1910–15
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019