Definition of spain Spain

/spejˈn/ - [speyn] - Spain

We found 4 definitions of spain from 4 different sources.

What does spain mean?

WordNet

Noun
spain - a parliamentary monarchy in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula; a former colonial power
		Kingdom of Spain, Espana
		iberian peninsula, iberia a peninsula in southwestern Europe
		europe the nations of the European continent collectively; "the Marshall Plan helped Europe recover from World War II"
		common market, ec, eec, european community, european economic community, european union, eu, europe an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members; "he tried to take Britain into the Europen Union"
		nato, north atlantic treaty organization an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security
		andalucia, andalusia a region in southern Spain on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; formerly a center of Moorish civilization
		capital of spain, madrid, spanish capital the capital and largest city situated centrally in Spain; home of an outstanding art museum
		balearic islands an archipelago in the western Mediterranean off the eastern coast of Spain
		majorca the largest of the Balearic Islands
		canaries, canary islands a group of mountainous islands in the Atlantic off the northwest coast of Africa forming Spanish provinces
		barcelona a city in northeastern Spain on the Mediterranean; 2nd largest Spanish city and the largest port and commercial center; has been a center for radical political beliefs
		cadiz an ancient port city in southwestern Spain
		cartagena a port city in northwestern Colombia on the Caribbean
		cordova, cordoba a city in central Argentina; site of a university founded in 1613
		jerez, jerez de la frontera a city in southwestern Spain that is famous for making sherry
		leon a city in central Mexico
		logrono a city in northern Spain on the Ebro River
		malaga a port city and resort in Andalusia in southern Spain on the Mediterranean
		oviedo a city in northwestern Spain near the Cantabrian Mountains
		san sebastian a city in northern Spain on the Bay of Biscay near the French border; a fashionable seaside resort
		sevilla, seville a city in southwestern Spain; a major port and cultural center; the capital of bullfighting in Spain
		toledo a city in central Spain on the Tagus river; famous for steel and swords since the first century
		aragon a region of northeastern Spain; a former kingdom that united with Castile in 1479 to form Spain (after the marriage of Ferdinand V and Isabella I)
		saragossa, zaragoza an ancient city on the Ebro River in northeastern Spain; formerly the capital of Aragon
		castile, castilla a region of central Spain; a former kingdom that comprised most of modern Spain and united with Aragon to form Spain in 1479
		catalonia a region of northeastern Spain
		galicia a region (and former kingdom) in northwestern Spain on the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay
		valencia a city in eastern Spain on the Mediterranean; "Valencia is the third largest city in Spain"
		lusitania ancient region and Roman province on the Iberian Peninsula; corresponds roughly to modern Portugal and parts of Spain
		cantabrian mountains a range of mountains in northern Spain along the coast of the Bay of Biscay
		cape trafalgar a small cape in southwestern Spain; "Nelson defeated the French and Spanish fleets off Cape Trafalgar in 1805"
		ebro, ebro river a river in northeastern Spain; flows into the Mediterranean
		pyrenees a chain of mountains between France and Spain
		sierra nevada a mountain range in eastern California; contains Mount Whitney
		tagus, tagus river a European river; flows into the North Atlantic
		basque the language of the Basque people; of no known relation to any other language
		spaniard a native or inhabitant of Spain

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OmegaWiki DictionaryOmegaWiki Dictionary Ω

spain
Country in Western Europe.

Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥

spain
A kingdom of Europe, occupying the larger portion of the great peninsula which forms the southwestern corner of the European continent, reaching farther south than any other European country, and farther west than any except Portugal. Spain, the Spania, Hispania, and Iberia of the Greeks, and known to the Romans by the same names, was inhabited at the period at which it first receives historical mention, by a people deriving their origin from different races. It is supposed to have been originally inhabited by a distinct race called Iberians; upon whom, however, a host of Celts are supposed to have descended from the Pyrenees. In the earliest times of which we have any record, these two races had already coalesced and formed the mixed nation of the Celtiberians. The Phœnicians and Carthaginians successively planted colonies on the coasts of Spain about 360 B.C.; and the Romans conquered the whole country, 206 B.C., which they erected into a Roman province, consisting of two political divisions,--Hispania Citerior (Hither Spain) and Hispania Ulterior (Farther Spain). From the time of the complete supremacy of the Romans till the death of Constantine, the condition of Spain was eminently prosperous. In 409, hordes of barbarians, Alans, Vandals, and Suevi, crossed the Pyrenees, and swept over and desolated the peninsula; about 412, the Visigoths invaded the country, and their king, Athaulf, who acknowledged a nominal dependence on the Roman emperor, established the Gothic monarchy in Catalonia. The battle of Xerxes in 711 gave the Moors almost undisputed mastery of nearly the whole of Spain, as well as of the outlying Gothic province of Septimania (Languedoc) in Franco. The Moors held Spain, for the first few years of their rule, as a dependency of the province of North Africa; but, after the downfall of Muza and his son Abd-el-aziz, who had been the deputy-governor of Spain, the country was governed (1717) by emirs appointed by the caliph of Damascus. The favorite scheme pursued by the Spanish emirs was the extension of their conquests into Gaul, to the neglect of the rising power of the Goths in Asturias; they also took the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Corsica, and part of Apulia and Calabria; but their northward progress was signally checked on the plain of Tours by Charles Martel. Anarchy and bloodshed were prominent features of the first forty years of Mohammedan rule in Spain. Within this period of forty years, no fewer than twenty emirs had been called to the direction of affairs; but a revolution at Damascus, which unseated the Ommiades, and placed the Abbasides in possession of the caliphate, put an end to this state of misrule in Spain. The Moors at length suffered a great defeat at Tarifa, by Alfonso XI. of Castile in 1340, and nearly the whole Christian dominions of Spain were united in one monarchy in 1479; but the power of the Moors was not finally extirpated until 1492, when Spain was consolidated into one empire from the Pyrenees to the Strait of Gibraltar. But the expulsion of the Moors and Jews was productive of the direst results, and the decline of the splendid Spanish empire may be said to have had its origin in the event which raised the country to the height of its magnificence. In the reign of Charles I., Mexico and Peru were added to the possessions of Spain. Philip II., by his enormous war expenditure and maladministration, laid a sure foundation for the decline of the country; and the reigns of Philip III. and Philip IV. witnessed a fearful acceleration in the decline of Spain by the contests with the Dutch, and with the German Protestants in the Thirty Years’ War, the intermeddling in the affairs of Northern Italy, the rebellion of the Catalans, the wars with France, and the rebellion of Portugal (1640), which had been united to Spain by Philip II. That of Charles II. was still more unfortunate, and the death of the latter was the occasion of the War of the Spanish Succession. (See SUCCESSION WARS.) During the inglorious reign of Charles IV. (1788-1808), a war broke out with Britain, which was productive of nothing but disaster to the Spaniards, and by the pressure of the French another arose in 1804, and was attended with similar ill success. Charles abdicated in favor of his eldest son, the prince of the Asturias, who ascended the throne as Ferdinand VII. Forced by Napoleon to resign all claims to the Spanish throne, Ferdinand became a prisoner of the French in the year of his accession, and in the same year Joseph, the brother of the French emperor, was declared king of Spain. But an armed resistance was organized throughout the whole country, and the supreme junta, that of Seville, declared war against Napoleon and France on June 6, 1808. In July, England, on solicitation, made peace with Spain, recognized Ferdinand VII. as king, and sent an army to aid the Spanish insurrection. This war lasted until the beginning of 1814, when the allied armies of England, Spain, and Portugal were thoroughly victorious. For important events which took place during this war, see appropriate headings in this work. Ferdinand VII. treated the subjects who had shown him devoted loyalty with infamous ingratitude, and subsequently obtained the aid of France to establish despotism. The reign of his daughter Isabella II. was disturbed by the Carlist rebellion in 1834-39, in which the British aided the queen with an army under Sir De Lacy Evans. The next events of importance were the contest between Espartero, the regent, and Queen-dowager Christina, for the supreme power during the minority of the queen; Espartero’s flight before O’Donnell and Narvaez (1843); his restoration in 1847; banishment of Queen Christina (1854); formation of the O’Donnell ministry (1858); war with Morocco and annexation of St. Domingo (1861); war with Peru and Chili (1864-65), and permanent truce in 1871; Prince Amadeus of Savoy declared king in December, 1870; abdication, February, 1873; insurrection of Don Carlos, 1873-76, when Prince Alfonso, son of Queen Isabella, became king. For more specific history of provinces and cities of Spain, see appropriate headings.

Wikipedia

Spain is a country in the southwest of Europe. It is in the Iberian Peninsula near Portugal and Gibraltar. France and the little country of Andorra are on its northeast side, where the Pyrenees mountains are.

The people of Spain are called "Spaniards". Most people there speak Spanish, "Español" in Spanish, but there are other languages in different parts of the country. They are Catalan, Basque, and Galician, Leonese, Aragonese, Aranese Occitan and even Portuguese. The religion of most of the people in Spain is Roman Catholic.

Since 1975, Spain has had a king, who only does what the constitution allows him to. For example the king formally declares a war, but only if the Government asks him to do so. The parliament is called "Las Cortes Generales", and has two bodies: "El Congreso" and "El Senado" and it is chosen by the Spanish people by voting. This kind of government is called a constitutional monarchy. The King of Spain is called Juan Carlos I. The President of the executive branch of the government is José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

The government and the king's palace are in Madrid, the capital of Spain.

Spain has more than five hundred thousand square kilometres of land. It is smaller than France, but it is bigger than Sweden or Germany. Around forty-three million people live in Spain.

Spain has 17 parts called autonomous communities (this means that they can decide upon some affairs themselves). Each part has its own government.

Early history.

People have lived in Spain