Co·lom·bi·a (k -l m b -) A country of northwest South America with coastlines on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Previously inhabited by the Chibchas, it was settled by the Spanish in 1530s and formed the nucleus of the viceroyalty of New Granada after 1740. The area gained its independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of Simón Bolívar, but the modern state of Colombia did not emerge until after Venezuela and Ecuador (1830) and later Panama (1903) had become separate nations. Bogotá is the capital and the largest city. Population: 44,400,000. Co·lom bi·an adj. & n. |   |
Colombia [kəˈlɒmbɪə]
n
(Placename) a republic in NW South America: inhabited by Chibchas and other Indians before Spanish colonization in the 16th century; independence won by Bolívar in 1819; became the Republic of Colombia in 1886; violence and unrest have been endemic since the 1970s. It consists chiefly of a hot swampy coastal plain, separated by ranges of the Andes from the pampas and the equatorial forests of the Amazon basin in the east. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Bogotá. Pop.: 43 071 000 (2001 est.). Area: 1 138 908 sq. km (439 735 sq. miles)
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Colombia - a republic in northwestern South America with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of Simon Bolivar; Spanish is the official languageELN, National Liberation Army - a Marxist terrorist group formed in 1963 by Colombian intellectuals who were inspired by the Cuban Revolution; responsible for a campaign of mass kidnappings and resistance to the government's efforts to stop the drug trade; "ELN kidnappers target foreign employees of large corporations" FARC, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - a powerful and wealthy terrorist organization formed in 1957 as the guerilla arm of the Colombian communist party; opposed to the United States; has strong ties to drug dealers AUC, Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, United Self-Defense Force of Colombia, United Self-Defense Group of Colombia - a terrorist organization in Colombia formed in 1997 as an umbrella for local and regional paramilitary groups; is financed by earnings from narcotics and serves to protect the economic interests of its members; "the AUC conducted over 800 assassinations in one year" OAS, Organization of American States - an association including most countries in the western hemisphere; created in 1948 to promote military and economic and social and cultural cooperation Medellin cartel - a drug cartel in Colombia; controlled the production of cocaine from the 1970s until 1993 when the leader was killed Cali cartel - a drug cartel that seized control of cocaine production in Colombia in 1993; adopted techniques used by terrorist organizations (small cells and sophisticated communications equipment and close ties with politicians etc.) Barranquilla - a port city of northern Colombia near the Caribbean on the Magdalena River Bogota, capital of Colombia - capital and largest city of Colombia; located in central Colombia on a high fertile plain Cali - city in southwestern Colombia in a rich agricultural area Medellin - city in western Colombia; important coffee center Cartagena - a port city in northwestern Colombia on the Caribbean Soledad - a city in northern Colombia; a suburb of Barranquilla Purace - an inactive volcano in the Andes in southern Colombia; last erupted in 1950 Andes - a mountain range in South America running 5000 miles along the Pacific coast Arauca - a river that rises in northern Colombia and flows generally eastward to the Orinoco in central Venezuela Magdalena, Magdalena River - a river that rises in the Andes mountains in southwestern Colombia and flows generally northward to empty into the Caribbean Sea at Barranquilla Orinoco, Orinoco River - a South American river 1,500 miles long; flows into the South Atlantic South America - a continent in the western hemisphere connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama Colombian - a native or inhabitant of Colombia |
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