___ Tiago, largest of the Cape Verde islands

SAO

This Portuguese word meaning "saint" often appears in the names of islands and cities, like the one that shares its name with a famous Brazilian metropolis.

This clue is asking for the name of the largest island in Cape Verde, which starts with "Sao." The blank represents the first part of the island's full name, "São Tiago," where "São" (often spelled "Sao" without the tilde in crosswords) means "Saint" in Portuguese. Since Cape Verde is a Portuguese-speaking country, the answer fits both the language and geography. The clue is straightforward—just fill in the missing prefix.