conquistador

noun

con·​quis·​ta·​dor kän-ˈkē-stə-ˌdȯr 

kən-,

 also  -ˈkwi-,

-ˈki-

plural conquistadores (ˌ)kän-ˌkē-stə-ˈdȯr-ēz 

-ˈdȯr-ˌās,

kən-;

(ˌ)kän-ˌkwi-,

-ˌki-

or conquistadors

: one that conquers

specifically : a leader in the Spanish conquest of America and especially of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century

Examples of conquistador in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Smallpox probably traveled from Europe to Peru with conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 June 2024

Dorantes was an enslaved explorer from the 1500s who Spanish conquistadors used for scouting and interpreting in the West, long before enslaved Africans were brought to the colonies. —Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 19 June 2024

The Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana also described seeing cities in the Amazon in 1542. —Howard Lee, Ars Technica, 2 June 2024

This incantatory novel takes place in 1519, on the day when Hernán Cortés and his conquistadors arrived at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital. —The New Yorker, 12 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, ultimately from Latin conquirere — see conquer

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

conquistador

noun

con·​quis·​ta·​dor kȯŋ-ˈkēs-tə-ˌdȯ(ə)r 

kän-ˈk(w)is-,

kən-

plural conquistadores kȯŋ-ˌkēs-tə-ˈdȯr-ēz 

-ˈdȯr-ˌās;

-ˈdōr-;

kän-k(w)is-,

ˈkən-

or conquistadors

: a leader in the Spanish conquest of America in the 16th century

Etymology

Spanish, derived from Latin conquirere "to search for"