conquistador

[ kon-kwis-tuh-dawr, kong-; Spanish kawng-kees-tah-thawr ]

noun

, plural con·quis·ta·dors, Spanish con·quis·ta·do·res [kawng-kees-tah-, thaw, -, r, es].

1. one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.

conquistador

/ kɒnˈkwɪstəˌdɔː; konkistaˈðor /

noun

1. an adventurer or conqueror, esp one of the Spanish conquerors of the New World in the 16th century

Word History and Origins

Origin of conquistador¹

1540–50; < Spanish equivalent to conquist ( ar ) to conquer ( conquest ) + -ador -ator

Word History and Origins

Origin of conquistador¹

C19: from Spanish, from conquistar to conquer; see conquest

Example Sentences

A single gunshot set off chaos at an outdoor gathering in Española over canceled plans to install a bronze likeness of conquistador Juan de Oñate, who is both revered and reviled for his role in establishing early settlements along the Upper Rio Grande starting in 1598.

From Seattle Times

To do so, he elicits help from fellow students, but their presentation is derailed by unlikely apparitions: a conquistador, a small child, Laura Linney.

From New York Times

When Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés took his final expedition in 1536 and saw the western coast of North America, he called it California, borrowing the name from Montalvo’s romance.

From Los Angeles Times

Modernity itself, he argues, was born in the moment the Aztec emperor Moctezuma and Hernan Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, first looked each other in the eye in 1519, a clash of empires that set in motion the city’s capture two years later.

From New York Times

He ruled that Martinez should have known he was provoking a crowd with contrary views about the conquistador statue after arriving with loaded, concealed weapons on his waist and in his car.

From Seattle Times