Showing definitions for gringo

SEE ALSO

Slang dictionary results for gringo

gringo

American  

[gring-goh] / ˈgrɪŋ goʊ /

noun

Slang: Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive.

plural

gringos

1. a term used in Latin America or Spain to refer to a foreigner, especially one of U.S. or British descent (often used facetiously).

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gringo British  

/ ˈɡrɪŋɡəʊ /

noun

1. a person from an English-speaking country: used as a derogatory term by Latin Americans

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gringo Cultural  

1. In Latin America, a foreigner, especially a North American or Englishman; usually a term of contempt.

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Sensitive Note

Use of this term implies that the foreigner is an outsider who does not understand or respect Hispanic culture or does not treat Hispanics well. However, gringo is often used consciously for humorous effect, without intent to offend.

Etymology

Origin of gringo

First recorded in 1840–50; from Spanish: literally, “foreign language, foreigner, especially an English-speaking one who speaks Spanish poorly”; often pejorative; probably alteration of griego “Greek, incomprehensible language”; compare English “It's Greek to me,” first recorded in English in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1599). The English and Spanish come from the Latin Graecum est; non legitur, “It's Greek; it isn't read” (either because the Greek was incomprehensible or because it was possibly heretical), supposedly dating from medieval monastic scriptoria. The belief that this word is from the song “Green Grow the Lilacs,” popular during the U.S.-Mexican War, is without substance. Cf. Greek

Example Sentences

This isn’t the first time John McAfee became the subject of a documentary; in 2016, Showtime produced Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee.

From The Verge • Jul. 27, 2022

About the cat: The Brewer’s yeast did the trick for Allen’s allergies, but when the couple traveled to Europe in July, the cat, whose name is Gringo, ran away.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2018

Watching Gringo, I found myself thinking that the more apt point of comparison might be Charles Manson, a figure whose charms seem as inexplicable in retrospect as they did irresistible in the moment.

From Slate • Sep. 20, 2016

Among the others making a name for themselves was "Gringo," Nanette Burstein's fearless take on eccentric software magnate John McAfee, who had a recent series of high-profile legal disputes in Central America.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2016

“She could dance all night long, dozens of dances. Gringo dances and Mexican dances. Everything.”

From "Out of Darkness" by Ashley Hope Pérez