castillo

See also: Castillo

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish castiello (“stronghold, fortress, castle”), from Latin castellum, diminutive of castrum (“fort”). Doublet of castell.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /kasˈtiʝo/ [kasˈt̪i.ʝo] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
IPA^(key): /kasˈtiʎo/ [kasˈt̪i.ʎo] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
IPA^(key): /kasˈtiʃo/ [kasˈt̪i.ʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
IPA^(key): /kasˈtiʒo/ [kasˈt̪i.ʒo] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Audio (Colombia): (file)

Rhymes: -iʝo (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
Rhymes: -iʎo (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
Rhymes: -iʃo (Buenos Aires and environs)
Rhymes: -iʒo (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

Syllabification: cas‧ti‧llo

Noun

castillo m (plural castillos)

castle (a large building that is fortified and contains many defences)

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

→ Basque: gaztelu
→ Papiamentu: kastio
→ Tagalog: kastilyo

Further reading

“castillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025