Rio de la Plata
- proper noun
- /ˈriːoʊ deɪ lə ˈplɑːtə/
:
Río de la Plata
- The Paraguayans based their claim to the Chaco on Spanish charters issued by the viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata.
Examples
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This intensified concern over racial equality after centuries of miscegenation extended north as far as New Spain's northern frontier and south to the viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata.
Academic text (1997) -
The Rio de la Plata is an estuary where the Paraná and Uruguay rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean.
-
Venus sparkles like a diamond over the Rio de la Plata near Buenos Aires.
Synonyms
A wide river mouth between Argentina and Uruguay where the Paraná and Uruguay rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean
A wide bay between Argentina and Uruguay where the Paraná and Uruguay rivers meet and flow into the Atlantic Ocean
Surface Forms
Morphology
rio + de + la + Plata
This toponym is compositionally transparent: 'rio' = river, 'de la' = of the, and 'Plata' = silver/Plata, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it refers to a river (literally 'river of the silver'). While detailed geographic status as an estuary or border feature is encyclopedic, the basic referent (a body of water named 'River of the Silver') is directly derivable and follows common 'River of X' naming patterns across languages.
Etymology
Rio de la Plata means 'river of silver' in Spanish; rio means 'river' and plata means 'silver'. Early Spanish explorers called the wide, shining river this after hearing stories of silver inland and because the bright water often looked like silver, so the name stuck for the large river mouth between Argentina and Uruguay.
