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A country of the West Indies on the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola. Originally inhabited by Arawaks, it was claimed for Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and remained a Spanish colony until 1795, when it was ceded to France. Ruled by Haiti after 1821, the country became independent in 1844 but has had a turbulent history, including many years of dictatorship under Rafael Trujillo Molina (1930-1961). Santo Domingo is the capital and the largest city.
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:
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.