Argentina

American  

[ahr-juhn-tee-nuh, ahr-hen-tee-nah] / ˌɑr dʒənˈti nə, ˌɑr hɛnˈti nɑ /

noun

1. a republic in southern South America. 1,084,120 sq. mi. (2,807,870 sq. km). Buenos Aires.

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Argentina British  

/ ˌɑːdʒənˈtiːnə /

noun

1. Also called: the Argentine.  a republic in southern South America: colonized by the Spanish from 1516 onwards; gained independence in 1816 and became a republic in 1852; ruled by military dictatorships for much of the 20th century; civilian rule restored in 1983; consists chiefly of subtropical plains and forests (the Chaco) in the north, temperate plains (the pampas) in the central parts, the Andes in the west, and an infertile plain extending to Tierra del Fuego in the south (Patagonia); an important meat producer. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic. Currency: peso. Capital: Buenos Aires. Pop: 42 610 981 (2013 est). Area: 2 776 653 sq km (1 072 067 sq miles)

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Argentina Cultural  

1. Republic in southern South America, bordered by Chile to the west; Bolivia and Paraguay to the north; and Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its capital and largest city is Buenos Aires.

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Discover More

Juan Perón came to power in Argentina in 1946, establishing a dictatorship, and ruled with the aid of his second wife, the popular Eva Perón, until he was overthrown in 1955. He was president again from 1973 to 1974, when he died.

Second-largest nation of South America, after Brazil.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Argentina adjective
• pro-Argentina adjective

Etymology

Origin of Argentina

From Spanish, from Italian: literally “made of silver, silver colored” (equivalent to argento “silver” + -ino adjective suffix), shortening of Terra Argentina “Land of Silver,” or Costa Argentina “Coast of Silver”; ultimately a derivative of Latin argentum “silver”; -ine ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Scotland had shown vulnerabilities only in the autumn, coughing up a 21-point lead against Argentina.

From BBC

Scotland had been heavily criticised for squandering a 21-0 lead in a chastening November loss at home to Argentina.

From Barron's

After closing out that Six Nations campaign with wins over Italy and Wales, England, without 14 British and Irish Lions, impressed by beating Argentina twice on a two-Test tour.

From BBC

In the autumn, a similar version of this side ran in 17 unanswered points against the All Blacks and 21 unanswered points against Argentina.

From BBC

An emerging bright spot for Latin America could be Argentina, whose stocks are excluded from most indexes after years of economic depredation.

From Barron's