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Origin and history of Curacao

Curacao

West Indian island, Curaçao, discovered 1499 by Alonso de Hojeda, who called it Isla de los Gigantes in reference to the stature of the natives. The modern name probably is a Europeanized version of a lost native word. The liqueur (1813) is made from the dried peel of the Curaçao orange.

also from 1499

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Trends of Curacao

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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observe
late 14c., observen, "to hold to (a manner of life or course of conduct), carry out the dictates of, attend to in practice, to keep, follow," from Old French observer, osserver "to observe, watch over, follow" (10c.), from Latin observare "watch over, note, heed, look to, attend
envy
late 13c., from Old French envie "envy, jealousy, rivalry" (10c.), from Latin invidia "envy, jealousy" (source also of Spanish envidia, Portuguese inveja), from invidus "envious, having hatred or ill-will," from invidere "to envy, hate," earlier "look at (with malice), cast an ev
robust
1540s, of persons, "having or indicating great strength, muscular, vigorous," from French robuste (14c.) and directly from Latin robustus "strong and hardy," literally "as strong as oak," originally "oaken," from robur, robus "hard timber, strength," also "a special kind of oak,"
cocktail
"drink made from water, sugar, spirits and bitters" first attested 1798, but the reason for the application of the name, and the image intended, if any, were obscure even to contemporaries. Ayto ("Diner's Dictionary") derives it from cocktail "horse with a docked tail" (the word
swallow
"ingest through the throat" (transitive), Middle English swolwen, from Old English swelgan "swallow, imbibe, absorb" (class III strong verb; past tense swealg, past participle swolgen), from Proto-Germanic *swelgan/*swelhan (source also of Old Saxon farswelgan, Old Norse svelgja
premium
c. 1600, "reward given for a specific act or a particular line of conduct," from Latin praemium "reward, profit derived from booty," from prae "before" (see pre-) + emere "to buy," originally "to take" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute"). The sense of "amount to be paid by
notorious
1540s, "publicly known and spoken of," from Medieval Latin notorius "well-known, commonly known," from Latin notus "known," past participle of noscere "come to know," from PIE root *gno- "to know." Middle English had notoire (mid-14c. in Anglo-French), from Old French, "well-know
eve
c. 1200, eve "evening," especially the time between sunset and darkness, from Old English æfen, with loss of terminal -n (which, though forming part of the stem, perhaps was mistaken for an inflection), from Proto-Germanic *æbando- (source also of Old Saxon aband, Old Frisian ewn
grave
"excavation in earth for reception of a dead body," Old English græf "grave; ditch, trench; cave," from Proto-Germanic *grafa-/graba- (source also of Old Saxon graf, Old Frisian gref, Old High German grab "grave, tomb;" Old Norse gröf "cave," Gothic graba "ditch"), cognate with O
mall
1737, "shaded walk serving as a promenade," generalized from The Mall, name of a broad, tree-lined promenade in St. James's Park, London (so called from 1670s, earlier Maill, 1640s), which was so called because it formerly was an open alley that was used to play pall-mall. This w

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