Medellín

Me·del·lín

M0187800 (mĕd′l-ēn′, mĕ′dĕ-yēn′) A city of northwest Colombia northwest of Bogotá. A commercial center in a coffee-growing and mining region, Medellín became known in the late 1900s as a center of drug trafficking.

Medellín

(Spanish meðeˈʎin) n (Placename) a city in W Colombia, at an altitude of 1554 m (5100 ft): the second largest city in the country, with three universities; important coffee centre, with large textile mills; dominated by drug cartels in recent years. Pop: 3 236 000 (2005 est)

Me•del•lín

(ˌmɛd lˈin, ˌmeɪ dəˈyin)

n. a city in W Colombia. 1,621,356.

Thesaurus

Noun

Medellin - city in western Colombia; important coffee centerColombia, Republic of Colombia - a republic in northwestern South America with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; achieved independence from Spain in 1821 under the leadership of Simon Bolivar; Spanish is the official language

Medellín

(māthāyēn`), city (1993 pop. 1,551,160), capital of Antioquia dept., W central Colombia. It is the country's chief manufacturing center. Textiles, steel, flowers, food products, automobiles, chemicals, and coffee are the principal products. Coal, gold, and silver are mined in the surrounding region. The city, which was founded in 1675, is located in a small intermontane valley at an altitude of c.5,000 ft (1,520 m). Until the development of transportation in the 19th cent., it was practically isolated; it has since developed into a transportation hub. Rich in cultural institutions, the city has three universities, art museums, several 17th-century churches, and a national mint. In the 1980s and early 90s, Medellín gained notoriety as the headquarters of the cocaine "cartel" that was the world's leading distributor of the illegal drug. Violent turf battles and reprisals became commonplace until the death of the organization's leader, Pablo Escobar.

Medellín

a city in Colombia, the administrative center of Antioquia Department. Population, 1,045,000 (1971). Located in the Porce River valley, on the slopes of the Cordillera Central (at an elevation of 1,474 m). Medellín is an old manufacturing center (ferrous metallurgy, chemicals, construction materials, textiles, leather and footwear, and food), responsible for approximately 15 percent of the country’s gross industrial product, including 65 percent of the textile production. Gold and silver are mined nearby, mainly for export. There is a university in Medellin. The city was founded in 1675.