california
/ˌkælɪˈfoɹnjə/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.00 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
The most populous state of the United States. Capital: Sacramento. Largest city: Los Angeles.
Countable; Uncountable
name
A region on the west coast of North America comprising the US state of California and the Baja California peninsula in Mexico; historically also including other areas in Alta California and Baja California.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "But my heart cried out for you, California / Oh, California, I'm coming home"
- "The men I met in California who were in their 30s and superambitious never really valued women, but Stephen valued me as a person.”"
- "The originator of a usurious loan in California is subject to severe civil penalties."
Etymology
Probably Spanish after California, a Utopian island of the Amazons described in Las sergas de Esplandián, a 16th-century Spanish novel. The name comes from the fictional island's Muslim-allied queen, Calafia, whose name may be a play on Arabic خَلِيفَة (ḵalīfa, “caliph”). For more information see: Etymology of California.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, خَلِيفَة, خ ل ف
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌkælɪˈfoɹnjə/
- British English: /ˌkælɪˈfɔːni.ə/