Spanish, An·da·lu·cí·a /ˌɑndɑluˈθiɑ,-ˈsiɑ/Show Spelled[ahn-dah-loo-thee-ah,-see-ah]Show IPA.a region in S Spain, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. 33,712 sq. mi. (87,314 sq. km).
Spanish name: Andalucía a region of S Spain, on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, with the Sierra Morena in the north, the Sierra Nevada in the southeast, and the Guadalquivir River flowing over fertile lands between them; a centre of Moorish civilization; it became an autonomous region in 1981. Area: about 87 280 sq km (33 700 sq miles)
former name of southern Spain, from Sp., from Arabic al Andalus, name for the entire peninsula, from L.L. *Vandalicia "the country of the Vandals," in ref. to one of the Germanic tribes that overran the Western Empire 3c.-4c. and for a time settled in southern Spain. See vandal