colonia

C3O1L1O1N1I1A1

noun

a slum or shantytown near the US-Mexican border, generally without modern infrastructure

OriginMexican Spanish colonia ← Latin colōnia ← Proto-Italic *kʷelō →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

colonia1

nouncolonia (plural colonias)

plural colonias

  1. a slum or shantytown near the US-Mexican border, generally without modern infrastructure

Colonia2

proper noun
  1. An urban area of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia.
  2. A neighbourhood, The Colonia or La Colonia, in Oxnard, Ventura County, California, United States.
  3. An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Woodbridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.
  4. A department of Uruguay.
  5. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Colonia del Sacramento: a city, the capital of Colonia department, in south-western Uruguay.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
colonia del sacramento

Origin

colonia · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
  3. Proto-Italic*kʷelō
  4. Latincolō
  5. Latincolōnus
  6. Latincolōnia
  7. Mexican Spanishcolonia
  8. Englishcolonia

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish colonia.

More words from Mexican Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Colonia · proper noun

Compare with Spanish colonia. Doublet of Cologne, colony, and Köln.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Ilocano
Cite this entry
APA

colonia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colonia

MLA

“colonia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colonia. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “colonia,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colonia.

Source: colonia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.