paisano
Americannoun
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a person who shares one’s place of origin; compatriot.
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Southwestern U.S.
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a person who lives in a rural area; farm laborer; rustic.
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a roadrunner.
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noun
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informal a friend; pal
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a fellow countryman
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of paisano
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; from Spanish, from French paysan; see peasant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Lalo said his late father and uncles taught him and his cousins a simple mantra: Siempre una mano pa’l paisano.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
Like their greatest paisano, Picasso, Spanish geniuses have their roots in another century or their homes in another country.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Hector of the tale is the village mayor, a paisano whose native cunning has been reinforced by the study of Machiavelli.
From Time Magazine Archive
But that was Mario: that smile, those mischievous eyes, that wry humor--one part paisano and one part prince.
From Time Magazine Archive
Shaking his head, Papa replied sympathetically, “I am sorry. I wish I could, paisano, but we’re broke too. When I heard Papa say, “we’re broke too,” I panicked.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
Like hundreds of their fellow Southern paisanos, they go back to Mexico often to enjoy a pueblo transformed by their entrepreneurial accomplishments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2020
Others might say Tortilla Flat, about a group of unemployed paisanos living from one small party to another.
From The Guardian ● May 11, 2020
It's kind of sad, but I'm also happy and it gives me hope to see all of my paisanos, all of my Latin people, that come here to work, to try a better life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2017
It is hard for them to be paisanos, but Victor Fleming's eloquent direction produces many a memorable sequence from the formless, wandering story.
From Time Magazine Archive
As I hung up, I spotted the two lean, tough-looking paisanos gazing in at me cooped up in the booth.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
