conquistador

Where does the word "conquistador" come from? It comes from Latin conquistare, passing through Spanish before entering English (1830s).

Conquistador’s story begins in Latin: conquistare meant “to conquer.” To seek out thoroughly, to conquer, from com- (thoroughly) and quaerere (to seek). By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as conquistador. Settled in Spanish for the soldiers and explorers who conquered the Americas. It reached English by 1830s as conquistador. Popularized in English by William Prescott's histories of the conquest of Mexico (1843) and Peru. Today, conquistador means a Spanish conqueror, especially one of those who conquered Mexico and Peru in the 1500s.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient conquistare "to conquer", to seek out thoroughly, to conquer, from com- (thoroughly) and quaerere (to seek).
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1500s conquistador "a Spanish conqueror of the Americas", settled in Spanish for the soldiers and explorers who conquered the Americas.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1830s conquistador "a Spanish conqueror, especially of the Americas", popularized in English by William Prescott's histories of the conquest of Mexico (1843) and Peru.