The Etymological Imaginary
Photo: Julius Shulman
"Name of an imaginary realm in "Las sergas de Esplandián" ("Exploits of Espladán"), a romance by Sp. writer Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo, published in 1510, which was said to have been influential among Sp. explorers of the New World and may have led them to misidentify Baja California as this land and mistake it for an island. Where Montalvo got the name and what it means, if anything, is a mystery. Californian is attested from 1785. The element Californium (1950) was named in reference to University of California, where it was discovered." - (http://www.etymonline.com)
4 comments:
I've heard that California is from Amadis de Gaula, but either way, it's a novela de caballerias. We were just discussing this in my class on Tuesday. Also, the Amazons were supposed to have lived there. Finally, I think it might mean something like "Hot oven" (Cali + forno/horno). I saw that in some history book as one hypothesis for its meaning/origin, though I am no 100% sure I'm remembering it all correctly. Picture's very surreal, whatever the case. Where'd you get it?
Julius Shulman is an architecture photographer, he started as an amateur and Frank Lloyd Wright saw his work and dug it. He does some great stuff with light and long exposures. Check out the trailer for the documentary Visual Acoustics. I haven't seen it but I want to.
Oh, that's a cool hypotheses about the meaning of California. I'll have to check some of my etymology dictionaries and see what they say.
So, Matt and Ben, what can we infer from the word 'fornication'?
A positively charged oven?
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