Hispanic

Hispanic (Spanish: hispano, hispánico; Portuguese: hispânico, hispano, Catalan: hispà, hispànic) is an ethnonym that denotes a relationship to Spain or, in some definitions, to ancient Hispania, which comprised the Iberian Peninsula including the modern states of Andorra, Portugal, and Spain and the British Crown Dependency of Gibraltar. Today, organizations in the United States use the term to refer to persons with a historical and cultural relationship either with Spain and Portugal or with only Spain. Some organizations intend to encapsulate only the Spanish-speaking populations in the term Hispanic, limiting the definition to that subset, while others encapsulate Spain and Portugal in the term "Hispanic."

The term is more broadly used to refer to the culture, peoples, or nations with a historical link to Spain, especially those countries which were once colonized by Spain, particularly the countries of Latin America which were colonized by Spain. The Hispanic culture is a set of customs, traditions, beliefs and art forms (music, literature, dress, architecture, cuisine or others) which are generally shared by peoples in Hispanic regions, but which can vary considerably from one country or territory to another. The Spanish and Portuguese languages are the main cultural element shared by Hispanic peoples.