Gaʹma (g hard)

Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese, was the first European navigator who doubled the Cape of Good Hope.

“With such mad seas the daring Gama fought …

Incessant labouring round the stormy Cape.”

Vasco da Gama. The hero of Camoënsʹ Lusiad. He is represented as sagacious, intrepid, tender-hearted, pious, fond of his country, and holding his temper in full command. He is also the hero of Meyerbeer’s posthumous opera, LʹAfricaine.

“Gama, captain of the venturous band,

Of bold emprise, and born for high command,

Whose martial fires, with prudence close allied,

Ensured the smiles of fortune on his side.”

Camoëns: Lusiad, bk. i.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.