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Ar·gen·ti·na (ärjən-tēnə)
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A country of southeast South America stretching about 3,700 km (2,300 mi) from its border with Bolivia to southern Tierra del Fuego. The region was sparsely populated by indigenous peoples before the Spanish founded settlements there in the early 1500s. In 1776 Spain established a viceroyalty in present-day Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Argentina achieved its independence from Spain in 1816. Buenos Aires is the capital and the largest city.

Argen·tine (-tēn, -tīn), Argen·tine·an, Argen·tini·an (-tĭnē-ən) adj.& n.
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Argentina

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.