Portuguese-based creole languages used to distinguish locally born black people of African descent from those who had been brought from Africa as slaves. In time, however, this generic sense was lost, and the word "crioulo" or its derivatives (like "Creole" and its equivalents in other languages) became the name of several specific Upper Guinean communities and their languages: the Guinean people and their Kriol language, Cape Verdean people and their Kriolu language, all of which still today have very vigorous use, suppressing the importance of official standard Portuguese. The oldest Portuguese-based creole are the so-called "crioulos" of Upper Guinea, born around the Portuguese
Houtman Abrolhos eyes open"), but this has been shown to be a false etymology. In the Portuguese language of the time, "abrolhos" meant "spiked obstructions", and served not only as a word for offshore reefs, but also as their word for caltrops and chevaux de frise. To Spanish ears, however, the word sounded like "abre ojos" ("open your eyes"), so they imputed this meaning, and this false etymology was later borrowed by English, Dutch and French writers. See abrojo wiktionary entry. Why Houtman named the islands using a Portuguese word remains a subject of debate. John Forsyth states that the islands are