Meanings
presidio1
plural presidios
- A garrisoned place, especially one that is or was once under Spanish control.
While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
1948, Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States, J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25
Presidio2
- A city in Presidio County, Texas, United States, on the border with Mexico.
- Synonym of Presidio of San Francisco.
Synonyms: Presidio of San Francisco
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounSynonym of Presidio of San Francisco.
Origin
presidio · noun
- Latinpraesidium
- Spanishpresidio“garrison”
- Englishpresidio
From Spanish presidio (“garrison”), from Latin praesidium, 1763. Doublet of praesidium and presidium.
More words from Spanish, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Presidio · proper noun
Shortened from Presidio del Norte, the name given in 1830. Known as La Junta de los Ríos prior to that.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
presidio. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/presidio
“presidio.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/presidio. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “presidio,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/presidio.
Source: presidio on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.