Havana
[huh-van-uh]
- Spanish Habana. a seaport in and the capital of Cuba, on the NW coast.
- a cigar made in Cuba or of Cuban tobacco.
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Cuba1
[kyoo-buh; Spanish koo-vah]
- a republic in the Caribbean, S of Florida: largest island in the West Indies. 44,218 sq. mi. (114,525 sq. km). Capital: Havana.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for havana
Contemporary Examples
In 1950, Serna earned his Ph.D. from the University of Havana, where he had befriended a classmate named Fidel Castro.
“At least it keeps the mosquitoes away,” one of my table-mates said, as we watched the swooshes of smoke waft into the Havana sky.
Nothing captures the exuberance and sensory experience of Havana quite like this.
Lastly, the re-opening of diplomatic ties between Havana and Washington gives Brazil a chance to push for changes in Cuba.
Venezuela Says Goodbye to Its Lil Friend, While the Rest of the Continent CheersCatalina Lobo-Guererro
December 20, 2014
So in America, “Havana Club” is made by Bacardi in Puerto Rico and can be found in five states.
Historical Examples
Connecticut supplies all summer resorts with the finest Havana segars.
It is strictly a Spanish idea, which the author has often seen in Havana.
Aztec LandMaturin M. Ballou
Or you can take a trip with me to Havana till it blows over.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
But over there they winked and chuckled at the judge, and they do the same in Havana at us.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
He has climbed very high; he is a judge of the Marine Court at Havana.
RomanceJoseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer
Havana
- the capital of Cuba, a port in the northwest on the Gulf of Mexico: the largest city in the Caribbean; founded in 1514 as San Cristóbal de la Habana by Diego Velásquez. Pop: 2 192 000 (2005 est)Spanish name: Habana Related adjective: Habanero
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Cuba
- a republic and the largest island in the Caribbean, at the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico: became a Spanish colony after its discovery by Columbus in 1492; gained independence after the Spanish-American War of 1898 but remained subject to US influence until declared a people's republic under Castro in 1960; subject of an international crisis in 1962, when the US blockaded the island in order to compel the Soviet Union to dismantle its nuclear missile base. Sugar comprises about 80 per cent of total exports; the economy was badly affected by loss of trade following the collapse of the Soviet Union and by the continuing US trade embargo. Language: Spanish. Religion: nonreligious majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Havana. Pop: 11 061 886 (2013 est). Area: 110 922 sq km (42 827 sq miles)
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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
Word Origin and History for havana
Havana
Cuban capital city, founded 1514 by Diego Velázquez as San Cristóbal de la Habana "St. Christopher of the Habana," apparently the name of a local native people. The Spanish adjective form is Habanero. Meaning "cigar made in Havana" is by 1802.
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Cuba
said to be from Taino (Arawakan) Cubanacan, the name of the people who occupied the island. Related: Cuban (1829), Cuban heel (1908); Cuban Missile Crisis (October 16-28, 1962).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Havana
Capital of Cuba and largest city in the country, located in western Cuba; the largest city and chief port of the West Indies and one of the oldest cities in the Americas.
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Note
The sinking of the American battleship Maine in Havana harbor in 1898 led to the Spanish-American War.
Cuba
Republic consisting of the island of Cuba and other nearby islands. It lies in the Caribbean Sea at the entrance of the Gulf of Mexico. Its capital and largest city is Havana.
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Note
The sinking of the United States battleship Maine in Havana harbor led to the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Note
Fidel Castro took control of the Cuban government in 1959. The United States broke off relations with Cuba in 1961, after Castro exhibited strong left-wing leanings, established a system of military justice, and confiscated American investments in banks, industries, and land. Cuba then formed a close attachment to the Soviet Union.
Note
In 1961, under the administration of John F. Kennedy, American-trained Cuban exiles attempted to invade Cuba, landing at the Bay of Pigs, only to be easily defeated by Castro's forces. The Kennedy administration was sharply criticized for the Bay of Pigs fiasco.
Note
The Cuban missile crisis of 1962 occurred as a result of a Soviet buildup of medium-range missiles (capable of striking targets in the United States) in Cuba.
Note
In 1980, Cuban refugees began pouring into the United States when Castro allowed free emigration.
Note
The collapse of communism in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has left Cuba as one of the last communist states.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.