> playa /ˈplaɪə/. orig. U.S.
Etymology: a. Sp. playa shore, beach, coast, f. late L. plagia: cf. plage1.
1. a. A flat silt- or sand-covered area, free of vegetation and usu. salty, that lies at the bottom of a desert basin and after rain becomes a temporary lake (playa lake). b. A playa lake.
1854 J. R. Bartlett Pers. Narr. Explorations I. 246 ― The playas··seemed to have an extent of twenty-five or thirty miles.
1856 in Publ. S. Calif. Hist. Soc. (1928) XIV. 124 ― We··stopped 11⁄2 hours at the wagon & took breakfast & then pushed on to the playa & went ahead to hunt for water.