caudillo
[kaw-deel-yoh, -dee-oh; Spanish kou-th ee-lyaw, -th ee-yaw]
- (in Spanish-speaking countries) a head of state, especially a military dictator.
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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. 2018
Examples from the Web for caudillo
Contemporary Examples
Like Assange, Snowden is a tempting piece on the Ecuadoran caudillo's geopolitical game board.
Historical Examples
Though Urquiza was a caudillo he had no such ambition for supreme power as plagued Rosas.
The South American Republics Part I of IIThomas C. Dawson
caudillo
- (in Spanish-speaking countries) a military or political leader
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Word Origin
Spanish, from Late Latin capitellum, diminutive of Latin caput head
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for caudillo
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper