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Port-au-Prince

[pawrt-oh-prins, pohrt-; French pawr-toh-prans]
noun
  1. a seaport in and the capital of Haiti, in the S part.

Haiti

[hey-tee]
noun
  1. Formerly Hayti. a republic in the West Indies occupying the W part of the island of Hispaniola. 10,714 sq. mi. (27,750 sq. km). Capital: Port-au-Prince.
  2. Also Hayti. a former name of Hispaniola.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for port-au-prince

Contemporary Examples of port-au-prince

Historical Examples of port-au-prince

  • The palace, like every other building in Port-au-Prince, consisted of one storey only.

    The Hour and the Man

    Harriet Martineau

  • The city of Port-au-prince, St. Domingo, destroyed by an earthquake.

  • The route from Port-au-Prince for two-thirds of the way is along the bay to Gonaves.

    Haiti

    J. Dryden Kuser

  • Janvier is a man who formerly lived in Port-au-Prince in the house where he was found.

    Haiti

    J. Dryden Kuser

  • He was going up to Port-au-Prince to take his turn of duty with his regiment.

    Tom Cringle's Log

    Michael Scott

British Dictionary definitions for port-au-prince

Port-au-Prince

noun
  1. the capital and chief port of Haiti, in the south on the Gulf of Gonaïves: founded in 1749 by the French; university (1944). Pop: 2 090 000 (2005 est)

Haiti

noun
  1. a republic occupying the W part of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean, the E part consisting of the Dominican Republic: ceded by Spain to France in 1697 and became one of the richest colonial possessions in the world, with numerous plantations; slaves rebelled under Toussaint L'Ouverture in 1793 and defeated the French; taken over by the US (1915–41) after long political and economic chaos; under the authoritarian regimes of François Duvalier ('Papa Doc') (1957–71) and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier ('Baby Doc') (1971–86); returned to civilian rule in 1990, but another coup in 1991 brought military rule, which was ended in 1994 with US intervention. Official languages: French and Haitian creole. Religions: Roman Catholic and voodoo. Currency: gourde. Capital: Port-au-Prince. Pop: 9 893 934 (2013 est). Area: 27 749 sq km (10 714 sq miles)
  2. a former name for Hispaniola
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 port-au-prince

Haiti

from Arawak haiti "land of mountains," and probably originally the name of the whole island.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
port-au-prince in Culture

Haiti

Republic in the West Indies, on the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Its capital and largest city is Port-au-Prince.

Note

With its extremely low average income and literacy rate, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Note

In 1957, François (“Papa Doc”) Duvalier established a dictatorship; at his death in 1971, he was succeeded by his son, Jean Claude (“Baby Doc”), who was finally overthrown in 1986. Since then the government has changed several times through military coups. In 1994, U.S. troops arrived in Haiti in an effort to restore democratic government, however, the political and economic future of Haiti remains uncertain.
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.