caudillo
[ kaw-deel-yoh, -dee-oh; Spanish kou-th ee-lyaw, -th ee-yaw ]
/ kɔˈdil yoʊ, -ˈdi oʊ; Spanish kaʊˈði lyɔ, -ˈði yɔ /
|
noun, plural cau·dil·los [kaw-deel-yohz, -dee-ohz; Spanish kaw-th ee-lyaws, -th ee-yaws] /kɔˈdil yoʊz, -ˈdi oʊz; Spanish kɔˈði lyɔs, -ˈði yɔs/.
(in Spanish-speaking countries) a head of state, especially a military dictator.
Nearby words
- caudate nucleus,
- caudate process,
- caudatum,
- caudex,
- caudillismo,
- caudine forks,
- caudle,
- caudle cup,
- caught,
- caught dead, wouldn't be
Origin of caudillo
1850–55; < Spanish < Late Latin capitellum, equivalent to Latin capit- (stem of caput) head + -ellum diminutive suffix; see -elle
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for caudillo
Like Assange, Snowden is a tempting piece on the Ecuadoran caudillo's geopolitical game board.
Though Urquiza was a caudillo he had no such ambition for supreme power as plagued Rosas.
The South American Republics Part I of II|Thomas C. Dawson
caudillo
/ (kɔːˈdiːljəʊ, Spanish kauˈðiʎo) /
noun plural -los (-jəʊz, Spanish -ʎos)
(in Spanish-speaking countries) a military or political leader
Word Origin for caudillo
Spanish, from Late Latin capitellum, diminutive of Latin caput head
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
caudillo
dictator in Spain or Latin America, 1852, from Spanish caudillo, cabdillo "leader, chief," from Late Latin capitellum, diminutive of caput (genitive capitis) "head" (see capitulum). Later in Spain taken by Franco as a title in imitation of German Führer, Italian Duce.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper