- Southern state of the SE U.S., mostly on a peninsula between the Atlantic & the Gulf of Mexico: admitted 1845; 53,927 sq mi (139,670 sq km); cap. Tallahassee: abbrev. FL or Fla
- strait between the S tip of Fla. & Cuba on the south & the Bahamas on the southeast: it connects the Atlantic & the Gulf of Mexicoalso called Florida Strait
Origin of FloridaSpanish from L, literally , abounding in flowers from flos (gen. floris): see bloom: so named by Ponce de León
Abbr. FL or Fla.
A state of the southeast United States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. It was admitted as the 27th state in 1845. The peninsula was explored by Juan Ponce de León in 1513 and became the center of a Spanish settlement that included the southeast part of the present-day United States. Spain finally ceded the area in 1819. Tallahassee is the capital.x
- Flo·rid′i·an Flor′i·dan
From Spanish Pascua Florida, meaning "flowery Easter."