santo

[san-toh, sahn-, sahn-taw]

noun

plural

santos 

1. a carved figure of a saint, usually of wood, as from Puerto Rico, Mexico, or the southwestern United States.

Word History and Origins

Origin of santo¹

First recorded in 1630–40, for an earlier sense; from Spanish: literally, saint; from Latin sānctus

Example Sentences

The Hammers' only away win this season came at Nottingham Forest in August, when West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo was still Forest manager.

Read more on BBC

By 1697, when the Portuguese ship Santo Antonio de Tanna sank off the coast of Africa, the British and the Dutch were successfully challenging Portugal’s sea trading monopoly, and the Omani Arabs were rebelling against more than one hundred years of Portuguese oppression.

Read more on Literature

On Christmas Day, 1696, a Portuguese relief force in the form of four ships, led by the heavily armed frigate the Santo Antonio de Tanna, arrived in the waters directly in front of the fort.

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In the battle that followed, the Santo Antonio, one of the most important ships remaining in the Portuguese fleet, was sunk.

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Santo Loquasto’s spare setting, eerily lighted by Jennifer Tipton, includes folding chairs and a background of weathered lath overrun with scripture-like words; his costumes are neutral-toned casual clothes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal