adelantado

[ ad-l-ahn-tah-doh; Spanish ah-th e-lahn-tah-th aw ]

/ ˌæd l ɑnˈtɑ doʊ; Spanish ˌɑ ðɛ lɑnˈtɑ ðɔ /

noun, plural a·de·lan·ta·dos [ad-l-ahn-tah-dohz; Spanish ah-th e-lahn-tah-th aws] /ˌæd l ɑnˈtɑ doʊz; Spanish ˌɑ ðɛ lɑnˈtɑ ðɔs/. History/Historical.

a governor of a province in Spain or of a Spanish colonial province.

any of the early explorers, conquerors, or colonizers in Spanish America.

Nearby words

adductor muscle of thumb, addy, ade, adeem, adelaide, adelantado, adele, adelgid, adeline, adelomorphous, ademption

Origin of adelantado

1835–45, Americanism; < Spanish, noun use of past participle of adelantar to go forward, derivative of adelante in front (a- (< Latin ad- ad-) + delante before, for denante < Late Latin dē in ante)

Examples from the Web for adelantado

When they all reached the shore where the other royal town is situated, the Adelantado ordered out a barque fully equipped.
De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2)|Trans. by Francis Augustus MacNutt
They asked for the Jauriqui,1 their name for the Adelantado, and were told that he was in the camp.
The Voyages of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros|Pedro Fernandez de Quiros
Don Alonso de Aguilar and the adelantado of Andalusia led the squadron of advance.
Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada|Washington Irving
The Adelantado—his hurt was slight—wrote again to the Admiral.
1492|Mary Johnston

He had letters for the Adelantado from the great brother, having waited in Cadiz while they were written.
1492|Mary Johnston