Da Estrela Polar

Frederik de Wit, Planisphærium cœleste (1670 - Wikipédia)

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«In 1474 Portuguese captains reached the point where the African coast turned south again, and when soon after they cross the equator they lost sight of Polaris, the ‘pole star’. This is a bright star in the constellation of Ursa Minor (…) that just happens to lie directly above the North Pole. (…) But as the star now disappeared from view, the sailors were entering not just uncharted waters but strange new parts of the world where even their navigational techniques no longer worked. The Portuguese word coined for losing sight of Polaris was desnorteado (…) and it soon took on the more general meaning of being lost or confused (…)».

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Lewis Dartnell, Origins, How the Earth Shaped Human History, London, Vintage, 2019, p. 224-225.