San·to Do·min·go (s?n?t? d?-m?ng?g?, sän?t? d?-) The capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic, in the southeast part of the island of Hispaniola on the Caribbean Sea. Founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus’s brother Bartholomew (c. 1460-1515), it was the first permanent European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. From 1936 to 1961, it was called Ciudad Trujillo. The name Santo Domingo has also been used for a Spanish colony on Hispaniola and for the Dominican Republic.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Santo Domingo (?sænt?? d??m?????; Spanish ?santo ðo?mi??o) n1. (Placename) the capital and chief port of the Dominican Republic, on the S coast: the oldest continuous European settlement in the Americas, founded in 1496; university (1538). Pop: 1 920 000 (2005 est). Former name (1936?61): Ciudad Trujillo 2. (Placename) the former name (until 1844) of the Dominican Republic3. (Placename) another name (esp in colonial times) for HispaniolaCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014San?to Do?min?go (?sæn to? d??m?? go?) n. 1. the capital of the Dominican Republic, on the S coast: first European settlement in the New World 1496. 1,313,172. 2. a former name of Dominican Republic. 3. a former name of Hispaniola. Also, San Domingo (for defs. 2,3). Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.