A cortijo is a type of traditional rural habitat in the Southern half of Spain, including all of Andalusia and parts of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha. "Cortijos" may have their origins in ancient Roman villas, for the word is derived from the Latin "cohorticulum", a diminutive of "cohors", meaning 'courtyard'. They are often isolated structures associated with a large family farming or livestock operation in the vast and empty adjoining lands. It would usually include a large house, together with accessory buildings such as workers' quarters, sheds to house livestock, granaries, oil mills, barns and often a wall enclosing a courtyard. The master of the "cortijo" or ""señorito"" would usually live with his family in a two-story building, while the accessory structures were for the labourers and their families —also known as ""cortijeros"".