Paysandú, city, western Uruguay, on the Uruguay River. The city was founded in 1772 by a priest, Policarpo Sandú, and 12 families of Christianized Indians, who translated the Spanish word padre (“father”) into the Guaraní Indian word pay, from which stems the name Paysandú. Now Uruguay’s third largest city, Paysandú has a relatively varied economy, with tanneries, textile factories, flour mills, distilleries, breweries, and meat-processing plants. A government-owned television station is located in Paysandú. The port is active, since cargo destined for northwestern Uruguay must be transferred at Paysandú from oceangoing ships to the shallow-draft vessels that ply the upper Uruguay. A bridge was built between Colón, Arg., and Paysandú in 1970. Paysandú is linked also by rail, highway, and air services to Montevideo. Pop. (2004) 73,272.