Skip to content

reconquista

reconquest

noun rreh-kon-KEES-tah Rare

Origin: From re- (again) + conquista (conquest), from conquistar.

Usage Note

Reconquista in lowercase means any act of recapturing lost territory. Capitalized, la Reconquista refers specifically to the nearly 800-year campaign (711–1492) by Christian kingdoms to retake the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule, ending with the fall of Granada. The term carries strong historical and cultural weight in Spain. It has been adopted into English historiography without translation.

Examples

"La Reconquista terminó en 1492 con la toma de Granada."

Natural Translation

The Reconquista ended in 1492 with the fall of Granada.

Explore Spanish by topic