Cortes

¹ American  

[kawr-tiz, kawr-tes] / ˈkɔr tɪz, ˈkɔr tɛs /

noun

1. (in Spain or Portugal) the two houses constituting the national legislative body.

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Cortés ² American  

[kawr-tez, kawr-tes] / kɔrˈtɛz, kɔrˈtɛs /

Or Cortez

noun

1. Hernando Hernán 1485–1547, Spanish conqueror of Mexico.

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Cortes ¹ British  

/ ˈkortes, ˈkɔːtɛz /

noun

1. the national assembly of Spain and (until 1910) Portugal

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Cortés ² British  

/ kɔːˈtɛz, ˈkɔːtɛz, korˈtes /

noun

1. Hernando (ɛrˈnando) or Hernán (ɛrˈnan). 1485–1547, Spanish conquistador: defeated the Aztecs and conquered Mexico (1523)

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Etymology

Origin of Cortes

1660–70; < Spanish, plural of corte court

Example Sentences

Susan Cortes, 24, said that while she has never heard of private investments, she is open to learning about them someday.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 12, 2025

Cortes had offered minimal help in his first three Padres outings, giving up seven runs in 15 innings while averaging barely 90 mph with his fastball.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2025

Others credit Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes, who got a taste of chocolate after being served Xocolatl by Montezuma himself.

From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025

Gibson hit his homer off future Hall of Fame reliever Dennis Eckersley and the heavily favored Oakland Athletics while Freeman hit his homer off demoted starter Nestor Cortes and the underdog New York Yankees.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2024

Cortes was directly responsible for much of the carnage in Tenochtitlan, but the war was only a small part of a larger catastrophe for which blame is harder to assign.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann