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. Greek

Example Sentences

“I confess that I felt a sense of relief when I saw the photo of Maduro in the hands of los gringos,” said Arape, 59, a welder and father of three.

From Los Angeles Times

“We heard at one point that María Corina left the country in the fuselage of an airplane carrying migrants, and that once she was out los gringos would arrive,” Monasterio said.

From Los Angeles Times

“The reality is that, with or without gringos, housing in Mexico has become enormously more expensive,” Viri Ríos, a political scientist, wrote in El País newspaper.

From Los Angeles Times

“I want to remind the gringo: I didn’t cross the border, the border crossed me,” the lyrics rang out.

From Los Angeles Times

“You catch them with a net, like a cartoon of some eccentric entomology guy running around the forest—a crazy gringo,” Rosser says.

From Science Magazine