Columbus

proper noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈlʌmbəs/

Etymology: See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Etymology: From Latin columbus (“a dove”). Doublet of Colombo. The common noun and verb are references to the Italian explorer.

A person who makes a great discovery.
“It is colossal. You are a Columbus of science who has discovered a lost world.”

Etymology: From Latin columbus (“a dove”). Doublet of Colombo. The common noun and verb are references to the Italian explorer.

To explore; to go around exploring, to go around as an explorer.
“"But, boy the powers of mud, I belayve you fellers mane to make an indepindint cruise in the Orient, and go Columbusing all over the ocean boy the way ye's talk!"”
“Callous as the old mummy was about anything and everything save his pet hobby, archaeology, he would sit up and take notice of such a vision ; and Peter felt that, having Columbused the discovery, he had the better right to it.”
To appropriate; to lay claim to something, especially a discovery, which is perceived as belonging to someone else.
“When his black friend tells him that many people knew about the bar before he did, his white friend retorts by saying that he “Columbused it”; i.e., discovered it for white people before a gaggle of hip white people flooded in.”
“If you've danced to an Afrobeat-heavy pop song, dipped hummus, sipped coconut water, participated in a Desi-inspired color run or sported a henna tattoo, then you've Columbused something. […] Sometimes, though, Columbusing can feel icky. […] Of course, there is no bouncer, but we can be careful not to Columbus other culture's traditions.”