the English word lesbian

“Sappho is best known for erotic poety, for she expressed her love frankly and without shame. She was bisexual, and much of her poetry deals with her homosexual love affairs. In one of her poems she remembers the words of her lover:

Sappho, if you do not come out,
I swear, I will love you no more.
O rise and free your lovely strength
From the bed and shine upon us.
Lifting off your Chian nightgown, and
Like a pure lily by a spring,
Bathe in the water.

In antiquity Sappho’s name became linked with female homosexual love. Today the English word lesbian is derived from Sappho’s island home.”

—McKay, Hill and Buckler, A History of Western Society, sixth edition, 1999. Quoting from Sappho by W. Barnstable, 1965.

Colorado.

Spanish for red. First applied to the Colorado River.
—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Florida.

Named by Ponce de Leon on Pascua, Florida, feast of flowers, 1513.
—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Idaho.

Shoshone derivation. State calls it “light on the mountains.”

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Minnesota.

From Dakota Sioux word meaning “clouded or milky” water of the Minnesoa River.

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Nevada.

Spanish, meaning snow-clad.

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Oklahoma.

Choctaw coined word meaning red man, proposed by Rev. Allen Wright, Choctaw-speaking Indian.

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Oregon.

Indian name (Wauregon) means “beautiful water”, referring to the Columbia River.

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Rhode Island.

Red Island, first named by Adrian Block because of its red clay.

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.

Vermont.

Named after its famous Green Mountains—the French word for green being “vert” and for mountain, “mont.” . . . When the state was formed in 1777, Dr. Thomas Young suggested combining “vert” and “mont” and Vermont was the result.

—Many State Names Have Indian Origin, unknown and undated newspaper clipping, citing as its source the American Automobile Association. Found in an old dictionary.