1. [n]  Italian explorer who led the English expedition in 1497 that discovered the mainland of North America and explored the coast from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland (ca. 1450-1498)
2. [n]  son of John Cabot who was born in Italy and who led an English expedition in search of the Northwest Passage and a Spanish expedition that explored the La Plata region of Brazil; in 1544 he published a map of the world (1476-1557)

CABOT is a 5 letter word that starts with C.