California

(Sp. model spelled same [kalifórnja]; originally the name of an island in a Spanish romantic poem Las Sergas de Esplandián, written by Garci Ordóñez de Montalvo; the name is possibly a blend of the word caliph and the names of Spanish cities such as Calahorra. When Spanish explorers discovered Baja California, they assumed it was an island and called it California. The territory that is now the state of California was known as Alta California under Spanish and Mexican rule)

   1) The thirty-first state in the Union. It became part of the United States in 1850.

   2) Northwestern Texas: 1933. The DARE references california as a verb meaning to throw an animal by catching it with a rope around its neck and flank and tripping it with one's foot. A method used especially for large and unmanageable calves. Not referenced in Spanish sources.

   3) An attributive adjective used in many combinations to denote animals (such as the California condor, California jay, California lion, California quail, California yellowtail, etc.), plants (California beeplant, California laurel, California lilac, California nutmeg, California sidesaddle flower), and items particular to California's history. The terms that are pertinent to the cowboy's era or trade are listed below.