Palermo

[puh-lur-moh, -lair-; Italian pah-ler-maw]

noun

a seaport in and the capital of Sicily, in the NW part.

Related formsPa·ler·mi·tan

[puh-lur-mi-tn, -lair-] /pəˈlɜr mɪ tn, -ˈlɛər-/, adjective, noun

Sicily

[sis-uh-lee]

noun

an island in the Mediterranean, constituting a region of Italy, and separated from the SW tip of the mainland by the Strait of Messina: largest island in the Mediterranean. 9924 sq. mi. (25,705 sq. km). Capital: Palermo.

Italian Sicilia. Ancient Sicilia, Trinacria.

Related formsSi·cil·ian

[si-sil-yuh n, -sil-ee-uh n] /sɪˈsɪl yən, -ˈsɪl i ən/, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for palermo

Espresso breaks are common in Palermo, especially at the elegant, old world Antico Caffe Spinnato.
Palermo Is Not Just for the Mafia Anymore|Alia Akkam|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Verne Club is a hip, steampunky cocktail club in Palermo Soho inspired by, you guessed it, Jules Verne.
The Absinthe-Minded Porteños of Buenos Aires|Jeff Campagna|March 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We're standing in a dark, closet-sized antechamber just off a quiet street in Palermo Hollywood, Buenos Aires.
The Secret Speakeasies of Buenos Aires|Jeff Campagna|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I meet Allie Lazar in Palermo Viejo on the last night of my search.
The Secret Speakeasies of Buenos Aires|Jeff Campagna|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Excerpted from Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo by Tim Parks.
‘Stupid Enough to Pay’: Tim Parks’s Italian Rail Adventures|Tim Parks|June 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The young idlers of rich Palermo intrigued to be introduced to her and threw enormous nosegays to her at the end of every act.
Corleone|F. Marion Crawford
The next point of interest will be Palermo, the most beautiful city of Sicily, which will be reached in one night from Naples.
The Innocents Abroad|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
Palermo is taken by the Normans, who reduce the whole of Sicily.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 5|Various
But the racecourse is open to the same objection as Palermo.
South America To-day|Georges Clemenceau
With Lilybæum, Palermo, and Messina in its hands, the latter was well based in the north coast of the island.
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783|A. T. Mahan

British Dictionary definitions for palermo

Palermo

noun

the capital of Sicily, on the NW coast: founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th century bc Pop: 686 722 (2001)

Sicily

noun

the largest island in the Mediterranean, separated from the tip of SW Italy by the Strait of Messina: administratively an autonomous region of Italy; settled by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians before the Roman conquest of 241 bc; under Normans (12th–13th centuries); formed the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with Naples in 1815; mountainous and volcanic. Capital: Palermo. Pop: 4 972 124 (2003 est). Area: 25 460 sq km (9830 sq miles)Latin names: Sicilia, Trinacria Italian name: Sicilia

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 palermo

Sicily

island off the southwest tip of Italy, from Latin Sicilia, from Greek Sikelia, from Sikeloi (plural) "Sicilians," from the name of an ancient people living along the Tiber, whence part of them emigrated to the island that was thereafter named for them. The Greeks distinguished Sikeliotes "a Greek colonist in Sicily" from Sikelos "a native Sicilian." Related: Sicilian.

Culture definitions for palermo

Palermo

[(puh-lair-moh, puh-lur-moh)]

City in northwest Sicily on the Tyrrhenian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea; capital of Sicily.

Note

Palermo's convenient location has made it an important port for trans-Mediterranean shipping for three thousand years. Settled by Phoenicia in the eighth century b.c., it has come under the influence of many civilizations, including the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. It has also come under the control of the Arabs and the French. Palermo has long been a center for art and architecture.

Sicily

Island in southern Italy on the Mediterranean Sea, separated from the Italian mainland by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its capital is Palermo.

Note

It is the largest Mediterranean island.