Compostela

English

Alternative forms

• compostela

Etymology

From Spanish Compostela, from Galician Compostela, from Latin compositella (“the little well-organized one”), from composita (“put together, arranged”) + -ella (“-elle: forming diminutives”), from compōnere (“to put together”), from con- (“with, together”) + pōnere (“to put, to place”), q.v.

Proper noun

Compostela

1. Ellipsis of Santiago de Compostela: a city in Galicia, Spain, a major Christian pilgrimage site.

Cebuano

Etymology

Named after the Galician city.

Proper noun

Compostela

1. a municipality of Cebu, Philippines
   • 2014 — Wenceslao, Bong, Dalaga Gipabudlot ang Mata sa Engkanto (22 August), SuperBalita

     Suma sa pakighinabi sa Superbalita sa albularyong si Lola Delia, usa ka dalaga nga giilang si Inday midayo sa Barangay San Jose sa lungsod sa Compostela aron magpatambal sa iyang mata.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (history) a former barrio of Danao, Cebu
3. a municipality of Compostela Valley

Galician

A view of Santiago de Compostela

Etymology

Attested as Conpostella in 966, from Latin compositella, diminutive of composita (“ordered, arranged”), meaning "the (well) composed little one" vel sim.

Cognate with Spanish Compostilla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /komposˈtɛla/

Proper noun

Compostela ?

1. a city in A Coruña, Galicia

   Synonyms: Santiago, Santiago de Compostela

2. a village in Abeancos parish, Melide, A Coruña, Galicia
3. a village in A Mezquita parish, A Mezquita, Ourense, Galicia
4. a village in Manín parish, Lobios, Ourense, Galicia

Related terms

• compostelán
• Santiago de Compostela

References

• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “compostela”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /komposˈtela/ [kõm.posˈt̪e.la]
• Rhymes: -ela
• Syllabification: Com‧pos‧te‧la

Proper noun

Compostela m

1. Santiago de Compostela

Further reading

• “Compostela”, 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