casa grande

(Sp. model spelled same [kása] 'house' and [grande] 'large' < Latin granáis 'big')

   1) Carlisle: 1850. Referenced by Carlisle and Hendrickson as a large house.

   2) Clark: 1910s. On a Spanish-American ranch or hacienda, the owner's home. According to Adams, this is where "all the hands gathered for fun and frolic." Bentley notes that it was without exception painted white and generally had a large veranda along the entire front. He also indicates that it was the "hub of the universe" for the laborers of the ranch. Although this term was more common in earlier times, it continues to be widely recognized in the Southwest. Santamaría says that a servant or laborer of a ranch or hacienda refers to the owner's home as the casa grande or casa principal.

   3) Clark: 1840s. Clark glosses it as "an extensive pueblo in the Southwest." Not referenced in Spanish sources, but common in toponyms in the Southwest and Mexico: Casa Grande, Arizona, and Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, for example.