Gringo (/ˈɡriːnɡoʊ/,Spanish:[ˈɡɾiŋɡo],Portuguese:[ˈɡɾĩɡu]) (masculine) orgringa (feminine) is a term inSpanish andPortuguese for a foreigner. In Spanish, the term usually refers to English-speakingAnglo-Americans. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. The term is often consideredderogatory,[1] but is not always used to insult,[2][3][4] and in the United States, its usage and offensiveness is disputed.[5]
The word derives from the term used by theSpanish for a Greek person:griego.[6][7] According to theOxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use in English comes fromJohn Woodhouse Audubon'sWestern Journal of 1849–1850,[8][9] in which Audubon reports that his party was hooted and shouted at and called "Gringoes" while passing through the town of Cerro Gordo,Veracruz.[10]
The wordgringo originally referred to any kind of foreigner. It was first recorded in 1787 in the SpanishDiccionario castellano con las voces de Ciencias y Artes:[11][12][a]
GRINGOS, llaman en Málaga a los extranjeros, que tienen cierta especie de acento, que los priva de una locución fácil, y natural Castellana; y en Madrid dan el mismo, y por la misma causa con particularidad a los Irlandeses.
Gringos is what, in Malaga, they call foreigners who have a certain type of accent that prevents them from speaking Castilian easily and naturally; and in Madrid they give the same name, and for the same reason, in particular to the Irish.
The most likely theory is that it originates fromgriego ('Greek'), used in the same way as the English phrase "it'sGreek to me".[6][13] Spanish is known to have used Greek as a stand-in for incomprehensibility, though now less common, such as in the phrasehablar en griego (lit. 'to speak Greek'). The 1817Nuevo diccionario francés-español,[b] for example, givesgringo andgriego as synonyms in this context:[14]
... hablar en griego, en guirigay, en gringo.
Gringo, griego: aplícase a lo que se dice o escribe sin entenderse.
... to speak in Greek, in gibberish, in gringo.
Gringo, Greek : applied to what is said or written but not understood.
This derivation requires two steps:griego >grigo, andgrigo >gringo. Corominas notes that while the first change is common in Spanish (e.g.priesa toprisa), there is no perfect analogy for the second, save inOld French (Gregoire toGrigoire toGringoire).[15] However, there are other Spanish words whose colloquial form contains anepentheticn, such asgordiflón andgordinflón ('chubby'), andCochinchina andConchinchina ('South Vietnam'). It is also possible that the final form was influenced by the wordjeringonza, a game likePig Latin also used to mean "gibberish".[11]
Alternatively, it has been suggested thatgringo could derive from theCaló language, the language of theRomani people of Spain, as a variant of the hypothetical *peregringo, 'peregrine', 'wayfarer', 'stranger'.[16][17]
There are severalfalse etymologies that purport to derive the origin ofgringo from word coincidences. Many of these folk etymologies date the word to theMexican–American War (1846–1848):
The wordgringo is mostly used in rural areas following the original Spanish meaning.Gringo in Argentina was used to refer to non-Spanish European immigrants who first established agricultural colonies in the country. The word was used forSwiss,German,Polish,Italian and other immigrants, but since the Italian immigrants were the larger group, the word primarily referred toItalians in thelunfardoargot.[21][22] It also found use in the intermittent exerciseGringo-Gaucho betweenArgentine Naval Aviation andUS Navy aircraft carriers.
InBrazil, the wordgringo means "foreigner" and has no connection to physical characteristics or specific countries. For example, foreignfootball players in theBrazilian Championship that come from other South American countries are referred to as "gringos" by the sports media[23][24] and by sports fans.[25] Tourists are calledgringos regardless of their ethnic origins (i.e. Latin Americans or people from other regions, like Europe).[26]
As the word has no connection to physical appearance in Brazil,black African orAfrican American foreigners are also calledgringos.[27] Popularly used terms for fair-skinned and blond people are generally based in specific nationalities, like "alemão" (i.e.,German), "russo" (Russian) or, in some regions, "polaco" (Polack) and "galego" (Galician)[28] which are used for both Brazilians[29][30] and foreigners[31] with such characteristics, regardless of national or ethnic origins.
In Chile, the wordgringo is mostly used to refer topeople from the United States.[32][33] The wordGringolandia is used colloquially as synonymous with theUnited States of America.[34]
Sometimes, it is used for people from someEnglish-speaking countries, likeGreat Britain[35] orCanada.[36]
In Mexico, the use of the word "gringo" has been reserved for people from the U.S.[2] (who belong to the country or are related to it),[37] or also foreigners who have white skin,[2] blond hair[37] or European appearance.[38] It is also used to refer toHispanics who speak poor or no Spanish, or who are out of touch with their Latino roots.[2]
The term is mentioned in its meaning of "incomprehensible language" from the 18th century (1789) to the 1830s, but also to indicate foreign troops, at first, coming from Spain in the second half of the 18th century.[39] A text published in Mexico, but written by a Spaniard, denigrates a Mexican from Sonora for speaking "gringo", in reference to the indigenous language. After theMexican–American War,gringo began to be used for citizens from that country, with expressions such as "American gringo" or simplygringo, attested as in popular use in Tepetitlán in 1849.[40] Since then,gringo became a way to designate United States citizens exclusively.[41]
The term is deeply rooted inMexican culture and art; for example, in the novelThe Old Gringo byCarlos Fuentes or in the songsFrijolero byMolotov andSomos Más Americanos byLos Tigres del Norte.[2]
In the United States,gringo is often used byLatino Americans to refer toAnglo Americans.[5] Sometimes it is also used by Americans to refer to themselves.[42] It is considered to be aracial slur targeted towards non-Hispanic white people but it may also refer to any person that is not Latino.[43][44] Among the US Latino communities it may also disparagingly refer to another Latino person perceived to not be culturally Latino, e.g. unable to speak Spanish.[45]
Alicia Shepard stated that there is a disagreement between Hispanics and non-Hispanics about its offensiveness.[5] She argued that even though in Spanish it is defined as a neutral term and not as an insult, in English it can be interpreted as such, and should be avoided.[5]
Gustavo Arellano said that the term is "technically a slur", but "its power to offend nowadays is minimal".[42] He compared the ban on the term as an attempt to cancel aspects of Mexican culture.[42]
InMexican cuisine, agringa is a flour tortilla withal pastor pork meat with cheese, heated on acomal and optionally served with asalsa de chile (chilli sauce). Some attribute the name to the white flour used.[46]
In 1969,José Ángel Gutiérrez, one of the leaders of theMexican American Youth Organization, said his and MAYO's use of the term, rather than referring to non-Latinos, referred to people or institutions with policies or attitudes that reflect racism and violence.[47]
used in Latin American countries to refer to people from the US or other English-speaking countries Note: This word is usually considered offensive.
Often Offensive: (in Latin America or Spain) A foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person.
often disparaging: a foreigner in Spain or Latin America especially when of English or American origin;
Sometimes Disparaging and Offensive: a term used in Latin America or Spain to refer to a foreigner, especially one of U.S. or British descent (often used facetiously).
desp.: Persona nacida en los Estados Unidos de América (país americano)
Persona nacida en Estados Unidos, en especial la de habla inglesa.
Pessoa que não nasceu no Brasil; estrangeiro
The word being used for Hispanic American footballers in Brazil.
The word being used for Hispanic American footballers in Brazil.
The word being used by a fan as a synonym of "foreigner" in the Brazilian Championship.
The word being used for European and Latin American tourists in Brazil.
Black immigrants from Cameroon play the "Copa Gringos" in Brazil.
The word Alemão as nickname for non-German Brazilian.
The word Alemão as nickname for non-German Brazilian Footballer.
The word Alemão as nickname for Polish Immigrant Leonard Kaczmarkiewicz eventually lead a whole community to be known as Complexo do Alemão(German's Complex).
...and the slur gringo by Anglo-Americans, explaining that "The act of re-appropriating or re-contextualizing, the process by which a group reclaims a term or artifact that disparages that group and then uses it in a different context, is not something new"
A person or an institution who has a certain policy or program or attitudes that reflect bigotry, racism, discord and prejudice and violence.