alcaide

American  

[al-kahy-dee, ahl-kahy-the] / ælˈkaɪ di, ɑlˈkaɪ ðɛ /

Or alcayde

noun

plural

alcaides

1. a commander of a fortress.

2. a jailer; the warden of a prison.

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alcaide British  

/ alˈkaɪðe, ælˈkeɪd /

noun

1. the commander of a fortress or castle

2. the governor of a prison

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Etymology

Origin of alcaide

First recorded in 1495–1505; from Spanish, from Arabic al-qā'id “the leader”

Example Sentences

At Algiers, he said, there lived, overlooking the prison, a great alcaide named Hadji Morato, a very rich man, who had but one child, a daughter of great beauty.

From The Story of Don Quixote by Choate, Florence

At this instant there was great warre betweene this alcaide and another gouernor of the next prouince.

From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 11 by Hakluyt, Richard

A Spanish Cuba rose—Iberian and yet singularly different—a business of Captain-General and Teniente Rey, of alcalde and alcaide, of Santiago de Cuba and San Crist�bal de la Habana.

From San Crist?bal de la Habana by Hergesheimer, Joseph

The alcaide returned a courteous answer, offering the princess and her train the shelter of the castle, but saying that he had not the power to release them.

From Historical Tales - The Romance of Reality - Volume VII by Morris, Charles

Then we must do with St. James of Compostella what the men of Burgos did with their alcaide, who persisted in getting drunk when he ought to have been getting sober.

From Tales from the Lands of Nuts and Grapes Spanish and Portuguese Folklore by Various