spain

spain — noun

1. a country in southwestern Europe that shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal

1.nounA2
Definition

a country in southwestern Europe that shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal and has coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean

Example

Lara spent her summer vacation traveling through Spain with her family.

country name used without article

Spain has beautiful beaches along its Mediterranean coast that attract millions of tourists every year.

Spain as grammatical subject of a sentence

Usage Note

Most country names, including Spain, are used without the definite article 'the'. You say 'in Spain', 'to Spain', 'from Spain'. The article is only added when referring to a specific historical period or aspect ('the Spain of the 1920s').

Common Mistakes

I went to the Spain last year.
I went to Spain last year.
country names usually do not take an article.

Word family

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • mainland Spain
  • northern Spain
  • southern Spain
  • eastern Spain
  • western Spain
  • modern Spain

Prepositions

Etymology

PhoenicianLatinSpanishEnglish

The name Spain comes from the Latin word 'Hispania', which the Romans used for the entire Iberian Peninsula. The origin of 'Hispania' is uncertain, but it may come from a Phoenician or Punic word meaning 'land of hyraxes' or 'land of rabbits' — the latter because ancient explorers saw many rabbits on the peninsula.