El Dorado

noun

El Do·​ra·​do ˌel-də-ˈrä-(ˌ)dō How to pronounce El Dorado (audio)
-ˈrā-
1
: a city or country of fabulous riches held by 16th century explorers to exist in South America
2
: a place of fabulous wealth or opportunity

Did you know?

In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadores heard tales of an Amazonian king who regularly coated his body with gold dust, then plunged into a nearby lake to wash it off while being showered with gold and jewels thrown by his subjects. The Spaniards called the city ruled by this flamboyant monarch El Dorado, Spanish for "gilded one," and the story of the gold-covered king eventually grew into a legend of a whole country paved with gold. These days, El Dorado can also used generically for any place of vast riches, abundance, or opportunity. It is also the name of actual cities in Arkansas and Kansas.

Examples of El Dorado in a Sentence

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This floral forward beer, with an ABV of 6.7%, has pops of citrus that come from El Dorado, Citra, and Ekuanot hops. Kathryn Gregory, The Courier-Journal, 9 Dec. 2024 Hailing the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray as America’s sports-car icon, Welburn also singled out the 1963 Buick Riviera, 1967 Cadillac El Dorado, 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado, and early iterations of the Pontiac Grand Prix. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 6 Dec. 2024 During the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors searched restlessly for El Dorado, the city of gold; in the 1850s, thousands of gold seekers panned for fortune in the California hills. Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 3 Dec. 2024 Shakira’s stadium dates will mark her first U.S. tour since the El Dorado world tour in 2018. Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for El Dorado 

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, the gilded one

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of El Dorado was in 1596

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Dictionary Entries Near El Dorado

Cite this Entry

“El Dorado.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/El%20Dorado. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.

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