presidio
Americannoun
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a garrisoned fort; military post.
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a Spanish penal settlement.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of presidio
1755–65, < Spanish < Latin praesidium guard, garrison, post, literally, defense, protection. See presidium
Explanation
A presidio is a Spanish military fort. Presidios in the western U.S. were built by Spanish colonizers to protect territory they had claimed. Many North American presidios were specifically built to protect Spanish missions, areas claimed by the king of Spain where missionaries constructed churches in order to convert native inhabitants to Christianity. These presidios, built between the 16th and 18th centuries, functioned as fortresses against raids by native people, rival colonists, and pirates. In Spanish, presidio means "fort or settlement," from a root meaning "to protect."
Vocabulary lists containing presidio
Chapter 2: Exploring the Americas
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European Colonization of North America, Lessons 1–2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Led by a military commander and the Franciscan missionary Fray Junipero Serra, a combined expedition of soldiers and friars reached San Diego in 1769 and built the first mission and fort, or presidio.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
The presidio had yielded to the glass office towers of downtown.
From New York Times • Nov. 21, 2012
In 1639 he conquered the Moro dato of Buhayen, in the valley of the Rio Grande, where a small presidio was founded.
From A History of the Philippines by Barrows, David P.
The Abandonment of Zamboanga and the Moluccas.—The threat of the Dutch made the maintenance of the presidio of Zamboanga very burdensome.
From A History of the Philippines by Barrows, David P.
Treaty with the Sultan of Jolo.—In spite of the cowardly policy of the successors of Bustamante, the presidio of Zamboanga was not abandoned.
From A History of the Philippines by Barrows, David P.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
