alcaide

See also: Alcaide

English

Alternative forms

• alcayde

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish alcaide, from Arabic الْقَائِد (al-qāʔid, “leader”); Doublet of caid and Alkaid.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ælˈkeɪd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ælˈkaɪdi/, /ælˈkeɪd/
• Rhymes: -aɪdi, -eɪd

Noun

alcaide (plural alcaides)

1. (historical) The governor or commander of a Spanish or Portuguese fortress or prison.
   • 1768, Edward Cavendish Drake, A New Universal Collection of Authentic Voyages and Travels, page 510:

     Soon after Mr. Petticrew arrived at Gibraltar, he came to Tetuan in his majeſty's ſhip Seahorſe, to acquaint the alcaide that he had orders from the king of Great Britain, […] .

   • 1810, John Joseph Stockdale (editor and publisher), The History of the Inquisitions, extract published in 1810, The Literary Panorama, and National Register, Volume 8, page 219,

     It was, above all, to the alcaide and the guards of the prisoners that he studied to recommend himself.

   • 1825, The Literary Chronicle for the year 1825, page 172:

     The municipal bodies were charged regularly to inspect the prisons; to watch over the conduct of the alcaides, and the inferior officers; and to propose to the government such measures as they judged to be best conducive to humanity and sound policy.

2. A caid.

Translations

governor or commander of a Spanish or Portuguese fortress

French: alcade (fr) m Polish: alkad m Portuguese: alcaide (pt) m

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese alcaide, from Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic الْقَائِد (al-qāʔid, “the leader”).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈkaj.d͡ʒi/ [aʊ̯ˈkaɪ̯.d͡ʒi]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈkaj.d͡ʒi/ [aʊ̯ˈkaɪ̯.d͡ʒi]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /awˈkaj.de/ [aʊ̯ˈkaɪ̯.de]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /alˈkaj.dɨ/ [aɫˈkaj.ðɨ]

• Hyphenation: al‧cai‧de

Noun

alcaide m (plural alcaides)

1. alcaide (commander of a province or fortress)

Alternative forms

• alcalde (obsolete)

Further reading

• “alcaide”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “alcaide”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic الْقَائِد (al-qāʔid, “leader”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alˈkaide/ [alˈkai̯.ð̞e]
• Rhymes: -aide
• Syllabification: al‧cai‧de

Noun

alcaide m or f by sense (plural alcaides)

1. commander of the defense of a castle
2. administrator of royal property
3. warden; administrator of a prison

Descendants

• → English: alcaide
• → Polish: alkad

Further reading

• “alcaide”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024