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Glite Dictionary
Plata River

Plata River

4.2
A wide bay between Argentina and Uruguay where the Paraná and Uruguay rivers meet and flow into the Atlantic Ocean
  • proper noun
translation icon : Río de la Plata
  • The Plata River is one of the largest estuaries in the world.

Examples

  • The Plata River serves as a natural border between Argentina and Uruguay.

  • The ecosystem of the Plata River supports a wide range of marine life.

  • Many ships travel through the Plata River on their way to Buenos Aires.

  • Have you ever visited the Plata River?

  • Many ships travel through the Plata River on their way to Buenos Aires.

  • The Plata River serves as a natural border between Argentina and Uruguay.

  • The ecosystem of the Plata River supports a wide range of marine life.

Synonyms

Rio de la Plata
vsPlata River
5.2

A wide river mouth between Argentina and Uruguay where two rivers meet the ocean

is the same estuary but called differently in English usage
La Plata
vsPlata River
6.7

A wide river mouth between Argentina and Uruguay where the Paraná and Uruguay rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean

is the same estuary but expressed with a longer formal variant

Surface Forms

Plata River main

Morphology

Plata + river

This is a toponym: 'Plata' is a proper name (from Spanish 'plata' meaning 'silver') and not a productive English lexical element, so knowing 'river' plus the word 'Plata' does not allow a learner to infer the specific referent or its estuarine nature. Place names are lexicalized and language-specific, making the overall meaning unpredictable from the parts for a B1 learner.

Etymology

Plata River comes from the Spanish name 'Río de la Plata', where Plata means 'silver' and River is the waterway. Early explorers saw the water as bright or hoped the river brought silver from inland, so they called it the 'river of silver', and that name still refers to the wide river mouth between Argentina and Uruguay.