[kuh-loh-nee-uh, -lohn-yuh; Sp. kaw-law-nyah] 
[-loh-nee-uh
z, -lohn-yuhz; Sp. -law-nyahs] . | (in the southwestern U.S.) a city neighborhood or a rural settlement inhabited predominantly by Mexicans or Mexican Americans. |
colonia
in Roman antiquity, a Roman settlement in conquered territory. The earliest colonies were coast-guard communities, each containing about 300 Roman citizens and their families. By 200 BC a system of such Roman maritime colonies maintained guard over the coasts throughout Italy. The Romans preferred this form of coastal defense to the use of a fleet. The colonists kept their Roman citizenship, with all the rights thereof.
Learn more about colonia with a free trial on Britannica.com.