Castilian
/kaˈstɪlɪən
/noun
1A native of Castile.The Castilians, like the Spanish population in general, are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic....
- A trade center since antiquity, this region has been periodically ruled by outsiders, including Spain's dominant Castilians, who excluded Barcelona from lucrative New World trade until 1778.
- The conquering Castilians - warriors rather than farmers - let the extensive irrigation systems of the Moors deteriorate, turning the fertile farms into pastureland.
2 [mass noun] The language of Castile, being the standard spoken and literary Spanish.The main language spoken in Andorra la Vella is Catalan, but many of its inhabitants also speak Castilian, French and Portuguese....
- In fact, the earliest formal effort to teach Nahua children to speak Castilian and thereby indoctrinate them in Spanish and Catholic culture took place in Tetzcoco itself in 1523.
- The standard language of Spain and its empire was based on Castilian (the dialect of Castile), and for this reason continues to be referred to in Spanish as both castellano and español.
adjective
Relating to Castile, Castilians, or the Castilian form of Spanish.Everywhere in the Euskal Herria region has two names, one in Basque and one in Castilian Spanish....
- Colombia takes great care to preserve the linguistic ‘purity’ of Castilian Spanish.
- Spanish women under Castilian law inherit property equally with their brothers.
