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Glite Dictionary
Spanish War

Spanish War

1 4.9
A 1898 war between the United States and Spain that gave the US Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines
  • noun
  • /ˈspænɪʃ wɔr/
translation icon : Guerra Hispanoamericana
  • In 1898, the Spanish War marked a turning point in American foreign policy and military engagement.

Examples

  • Many historians argue that the Spanish War played a crucial role in the rise of the United States as a global power.

  • In "Looking Back on the Spanish War," George Orwell writes, "I have little direct evidence about the atrocities in the Spanish Civil War."

    Blog text (33)

  • C. J. A. O'Toole. The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898. New York: Norton, 1984.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The Spanish War was a significant conflict that led to the U.S. acquiring territories like Puerto Rico and Guam.

Synonyms

Spanish-American War
vsSpanish War
5 5.8

A 1898 war between the United States and Spain that gives U.S. territories like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines

has the same meaning but uses a fuller two-country form

Surface Forms

Spanish War singular
Spanish Wars plural

Morphology

Spanish + war

The phrase is compositionally built from 'Spanish' (of/from Spain) + 'war' (armed conflict), so a learner who knows both words will infer it denotes a war involving Spain. Identifying the specific historical referent (the 1898 U.S.–Spain conflict) requires extra background knowledge, but the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

Spanish War comes from a simple fact: it was a war fought against Spain in 1898. Because people called that 1898 fight the 'Spanish' war, the name now means the U.S. war with Spain when the United States gained overseas lands.