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gaucho

[gou-choh; Spanish gou-chaw]
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noun, plural gau·chos [gou-chohz; Spanish gou-chaws] /ˈgaʊ tʃoʊz; Spanish ˈgaʊ tʃɔs/.
  1. a native cowboy of the South American pampas, usually of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry.
  2. gauchos. Also called gaucho pants. wide, calf-length trousers for men or women modeled after the trousers worn by South American gauchos.
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Origin of gaucho

1815–25; < American Spanish < Arawak cachu comrade
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

passengerdrivertravelerrancherherderherdsmanbreederfarmerbroncocowboystraphangergauchosuburbanitewranglervaquerocowherdgoatherdsheepherderbuckaroocowpuncher

Examples from the Web for gaucho

Historical Examples

  • A mounted Gaucho rides on either side of him, to keep him straight.

    The Western World

    W.H.G. Kingston

  • The emphasis on the “him” points to some one not yet mentioned, but whom the gaucho has in his mind.

  • Saying this, the gaucho relapses into silence, the others also ceasing to converse.

  • The gaucho has no thought of so appealing, any more than either of the others.

  • And communicating this to the gaucho, he holds their horses while they return to search for them.

British Dictionary definitions for gaucho

gaucho

noun plural -chos
  1. a cowboy of the South American pampas, usually one of mixed Spanish and Indian descent
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Word Origin

C19: from American Spanish, probably from Quechuan wáhcha orphan, vagabond
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gaucho

n.

1824, from Spanish, probably from a native South American language, cf. Araucanian cauchu "wanderer."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper