Ma·gel·lan

(mə-jĕl′ən), Ferdinand 1480?-1521.

Portuguese navigator. Seeking a western route to Asia (1519), Magellan and his Spanish expedition sailed through the strait that now bears his name (1520). He named and crossed the Pacific Ocean, reaching the Philippines (1521), where he died fighting for a local king. One of his ships returned to Spain (1522), completing the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Magellan

, Strait of

A channel separating South America from Tierra del Fuego and other islands south of the continent and connecting the southern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Ferdinand Magellan sailed through the strait in October and November 1520.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Magellan

(məˈɡɛlən)

(Placename) Strait of Magellan a strait between the mainland of S South America and Tierra del Fuego, linking the S Pacific with the S Atlantic. Length: 600 km (370 miles). Width: up to 32 km (20 miles)

Magellan

(məˈɡɛlən)

(Biography) Ferdinand. Portuguese name Fernão de Magalhães. ?1480–1521, Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain. He commanded an expedition of five ships that set out to sail to the East Indies via the West. He discovered the Strait of Magellan (1520), crossed the Pacific, and reached the Philippines (1521), where he was killed by natives. One of his ships reached Spain (1522) and was therefore the first to circumnavigate the world

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Ma•gel•lan

(məˈdʒɛl ən)

n.

1. Ferdinand, c1480–1521, Portuguese navigator.

2. Strait of, a strait near the S tip of South America between the mainland of Chile and Tierra del Fuego, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific. 360 mi. (580 km) long.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Magellan - Portuguese navigator in the service of Spain; he commanded an expedition that was the first to circumnavigate the world (1480-1521)

Ferdinand Magellan, Fernao Magalhaes

Translations

Magellan

[məˈgelən]

A. N → Magallanes

B. CPD Magellan Straits NPL → Estrecho m de Magallanes

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

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References in classic literature

On the west, however, rise the Rocky Mountains, that immense range which, commencing at the Straights of Magellan, follows the western coast of Southern America under the name of the Andes or the Cordilleras, until it crosses the Isthmus of Panama, and runs up the whole of North America to the very borders of the Polar Sea.

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We had crossed the tropic of Capricorn, and the Straits of Magellan opened less than seven hundred miles to the south.

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"In this spot there is a submarine valley worn by Humboldt's current, which skirts the coast of America as far as the Straits of Magellan."

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A few years earlier Columbus had revealed the New World and virtually proved that the earth is round, a proof scientifically completed a generation after him when Magellan's ship actually circled the globe.

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This is the principal river on the whole line of coast between the Strait of Magellan and the Plata.

From the Strait of Magellan to the Colorado, a distance of about eight hundred miles, the face of the country is everywhere composed of shingle: the pebbles are chiefly of porphyry, and probably owe their origin to the rocks of the Cordillera.

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It was his opinion, also, that a settlement on this extremity of America would disclose new sources of trade, promote many useful discoveries, and open a more direct communication with China and the English settlements in the East Indies, than that by the Cape of Good Hope or the Straits of Magellan. * This enterprising and intrepid traveller was twice baffled in individual efforts to accomplish this great journey.

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The plains near the Straits of Magellan are inhabited by one species of Rhea (American ostrich), and northward the plains of La Plata by another species of the same genus; and not by a true ostrich or emeu, like those found in Africa and Australia under the same latitude.

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"By the Great Combers of Magellan!" he said, beneath his mustache.

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Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and Magellan Midstream (MMP) announced the addition of dock capacity auctions for ICE Permian WTI crude oil futures contracts at Magellan's terminals in Galena Park and Seabrook.

IntercontinentalExchange, Magellan Midstream announce dock capacity auctions

Ferdinand Magellan set off from Spain 500 years ago on an epoch-making voyage to sail all the way around the globe for the first time.

500 years on, how Magellan's voyage changed the world

On Tuesday, July 30, Magellan Health (NASDAQ: MGLN) will release its latest earnings report.

Q2 Earnings Preview For Magellan Health