Cape Kennedy

1 4.3

A sandy point on Florida's east coast where NASA launches rockets

proper noun
/keɪp ˈkɛnədi/

: Cabo Kennedy

Many historic launches have taken place at Cape Kennedy, attracting millions of visitors each year.

Examples

Cape Kennedy, formerly known as Cape Canaveral, is famous for its role in NASA's space missions.
Oh, there you have it, the astronauts are on their way home and it's another first in space, authorities at Cape Kennedy estimate splash down will occur at 2:45 Pacific time next Thursday.

The Dove (1974)
The Kennedy Space Center is located at Cape Kennedy, making it a significant site for space exploration.

Synonyms

Cape Canaveral

vsCape Kennedy

7 4.4

A sandy point on the east coast of Florida where rockets are launched

is the later official name that replaced the earlier one

Surface Forms

Cape Kennedy main

Morphology

cape + Kennedy

The phrase combines the common geographic noun 'cape' (a promontory) with a proper name; a B1 learner who knows 'cape' and recognizes 'Kennedy' as a name can readily infer it denotes a cape named Kennedy. This place-name construction ("Cape + Name") is cross-linguistically common, so the overall meaning is transparently compositional rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Cape Kennedy was the name given to Cape Canaveral after President John F. Kennedy to honor his strong support for the US 'space program'. That's why, because many rockets were launched there, the name makes people think of 'space launches' and America's early space history.