cau·dil·lo

(kô-dēl′yō, -dē′yō, kou-)

n. pl. cau·dil·los

1. A leader or chief, especially a military dictator.

2. A political boss; an overlord.

[Spanish, leader, from Late Latin capitellum, diminutive of Latin caput, head; see kaput- in Indo-European roots.]

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.

caudillo

(kɔːˈdiːljəʊ; Spanish kauˈðiʎo)

n, pl -los (-jəʊz; Spanish -ʎos)

(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in Spanish-speaking countries) a military or political leader

[Spanish, from Late Latin capitellum, diminutive of Latin caput head]

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

cau•dil•lo

(Sp. kaʊˈði lyɔ, -ˈði yɔ)

n., pl. -dil•los (Sp. -ˈði lyɔs, -ˈði yɔs)

(in Spanish-speaking countries) a head of state, esp. a military dictator.

[1850–55; < Sp: chief, leader < Late Latin capitellum; see capital²]

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References in periodicals archive

Given the fact that both the Royal House of Spain (that was re-installed in formal authority by 'Caudillo' (Leader) Francisco Franco, the dictator who supped with the Nazis in Berlin but who cleverly kept his government away from a war that ended disastrously for the Germans.

EU double standard over Venezuela and Catalonia

La Fondation nationale Francisco Franco fondee en 1976 afin de [beaucoup moins que]diffuser et de promouvoir la biographie, les pensees, l'heritage et les oeuvres[beaucoup plus grand que] du dictateur espagnol etant ainsi devenue illegale, les restes du defunt Caudillo seront remis a sa famille et le mausolee qui abritait sa depouille sera transforme en [beaucoup moins que]memorial des victimes du fascisme[beaucoup plus grand que].

Pedro Sanchez veut tourner la page du franquisme

Se llamaba El Caudillo. Tambien escribio (y destruyo) un libro de ensayos, y publico una traduccion de la version de FitzGerald del poema de Omar Khayyam en la misma metrica del original.

De sendas y senderos que no se bifurcan. Un texto hibrido de Jorge Guillermo Borges

Uno de los rasgos menos atendidos del criollismo es el modo en el que las historias protagonizadas por los heroes del genero--los gauchos matreros-- aparecieron conectadas con las figuras del montonero y del caudillo federal.

It elevates one individual, a caudillo (leader), to supreme leadership, often with demi-god status.

The United States and Latin America: individuals and institutions