cordillera

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: cor=dil=le=ra

CIDE DICTIONARY

cordillera, n. [Sp., fr. OSp. cordilla, cordiella, dim. of cuerda a rope, string. See Cord.].

 A mountain ridge or chain.  [1913 Webster]
" Cordillera is sometimes applied, in geology, to the system of mountain chains near the border of a continent; thus, the western cordillera of North America in the United States includes the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Coast and Cascade ranges."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

cordillera, n. a system or group of usu. parallel mountain ranges together with intervening plateaux etc., esp. of the Andes and in Central America and Mexico.

Etymology

Sp. f. cordilla dimin. of cuerda CORD