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Glite Dictionary
San Salvador

San Salvador

5 2.6
The capital and largest city of El Salvador in Central America often hit by earthquakes
  • proper noun
  • /sæn sɑlˈvædɔr/
: San Salvador
  • In order to examine the implications of the new evangelization at the grassroots, we must explore its implementation in two parishes in San Salvador.
  • the city of San Salvador
  • the Archdiocese of San Salvador

Examples

  • The entire city of San Salvador has only eight voting sites, whereas Managua has hundreds (the basic contrast applies in other urban areas).

    Academic text (1998)

  • In the city of San Salvador—wonder of wonders—buses run on schedule.

    Academic text (1996)

  • This happened in San Salvador, not long ago.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The walls in San Salvador have always been high.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Location: San Salvador.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The population of San Salvador's metropolitan area swelled from 560,000 in 1971 to over 1.2 million by 1990.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The center-left (in the person of winning mayoral candidate Hector Silva) did very well in the city of San Salvador.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Salvador Arias received a licenciatura in economics from the Jesuit-run Universidad Centroamericana in San Salvador in 1974.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Nevertheless, May 1997 visits to Managua and San Salvador left the impression that near-term prospects both for the democratic left and for further development and consolidation of democracy in general may be brighter in El Salvador than in Nicaragua.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The six priests and two others were murdered in the capital, San Salvador, last year.

Surface Forms

San Salvador main

Morphology

San + Salvador

San Salvador is a proper name/toponym whose status as the capital and largest city of El Salvador is world knowledge rather than a compositional meaning derivable from its parts. Even if a learner recognizes 'San' (Saint) and 'Salvador' (Savior) or cognates in other languages, that literal reading does not reliably indicate the city's identity or location, so the meaning is not predictable from the constituents.

Etymology

The place name San Salvador comes from Spanish words: San meaning 'Saint' and Salvador meaning 'Savior'. Spanish explorers named the town for Jesus, and that name stayed, so today San Salvador is the capital city of El Salvador.