El Salvador

[ el sal-vuh-dawr; Spanish el sahl-vah-thawr ]

noun

1. a republic in NW Central America. 13,176 sq. mi. (34,125 sq. km). : San Salvador.

El Salvador

/ ɛl ˈsælvəˌdɔː /

noun

1. a republic in Central America, on the Pacific: colonized by the Spanish from 1524; declared independence in 1841, becoming a republic in 1856. It consists of coastal lowlands rising to a central plateau. Coffee constitutes over a third of the total exports. Official language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: US dollar. Capital: San Salvador. Pop: 6 108 590 (2013 est). Area: 21 393 sq km (8236 sq miles)

El Salvador

1. Republic on the Pacific coast of Central America , bordered to the west by Guatemala , to the north and east by Honduras , and to the south by the Pacific Ocean . San Salvador is its capital and largest city.

Notes

Torn by civil unrest and characterized by guerrilla warfare and terrorism (which has included the murder of American civilians), El Salvador became in the 1980s a controversial focus of an American foreign policy that sought to protect American interests in Central America. Unrest eased in the 1990s.

Example Sentences

In 1985, a divided City Council adopted a resolution declaring Los Angeles a city of sanctuary for immigrants fleeing political persecution and violence, particularly refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.

From Los Angeles Times

One man from El Salvador had earned $40 a day selling oranges in Los Angeles.

From New York Times

Traveling through the mountains of Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, I heard accounts of migrants suffering shortages of food and climate-driven despair that had forced them to move.

From Salon

As vice president, she has worked to to address the root causes of migration from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — work she took on at Biden’s request.

From Los Angeles Times

The six killed were from Egypt, El Salvador and Peru, the president said.

From Los Angeles Times