Gringo facts for kids
The word Gringo (or gringa for females) is used in Spanish and Portuguese. It usually refers to a foreigner, often someone who speaks English, especially from the U.S..
The meaning of "gringo" can change depending on where you are. In Latin America, it often means someone who is not from Latin America. In English, some people think the word "gringo" is offensive, but this is debated.
The word comes from the Spanish word griego, which means 'Greek'. The first time "gringo" was written down in English was in 1849. A man named John Woodhouse Audubon wrote that people called his group "Gringoes" in a town in Mexico.
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What Does "Gringo" Mean?
The word gringo first meant any kind of foreigner. It was first written in a Spanish dictionary in 1787. The dictionary said that in Malaga, Spain, people called foreigners "gringos" if they had an accent that made it hard for them to speak Spanish clearly. In Madrid, they used the same word especially for Irish people.
The most likely idea for where the word came from is griego ('Greek'). This is similar to the English phrase "it's Greek to me", which means something is hard to understand. Spanish used to use "Greek" to mean something confusing. For example, hablar en griego means 'to speak Greek' or 'to speak gibberish'.
So, the idea is that griego became grigo, and then grigo became gringo. Sometimes, Spanish words get an extra 'n' sound in the middle, like gordiflón and gordinflón (both mean 'chubby').
Some people also think gringo might come from the Caló language, which is spoken by Romani people in Spain. It could be a short version of a word meaning 'stranger' or 'traveler'.
Old Stories About the Word
There are many popular stories about where the word gringo came from, but most of them are not true. Many of these stories say the word started during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848):
- One story says it came from American soldiers singing songs that started with "Green grows...", like "Green Grow the Lilacs".
- Another story says locals yelled "Green, go home!" at American soldiers because of their green uniforms.
- A third story says it came from the Irish phrase "Erin go bragh" ("Ireland forever"). This was the motto of the Saint Patrick's Battalion, a group that fought with the Mexican army.
How "Gringo" Is Used in Different Places
The meaning of "gringo" can be different depending on the country.
Argentina
In Argentina, especially in the countryside, gringo was used for European immigrants who were not Spanish. This included Swiss, German, Polish, and Italian immigrants. Because many Italians came to Argentina, the word often meant 'Italian' in the local slang called lunfardo.
More recently, young people in Argentina might use gringo to talk about people from the U.S..
Brazil
In Brazil, the word gringo simply means "foreigner." It doesn't matter what someone looks like or where they are from. For example, football players from other Latin American countries who play in Brazil are called "gringos." Tourists are also called gringos, no matter their background.
So, in Brazil, a black African or African American person from another country would also be called a gringo. For people with fair skin and blond hair, Brazilians often use words like "alemão" (German), "russo" (Russian), or "galego" (Galician), even if the person is not actually from those countries.
Mexico
In Mexico, since the late 1800s, "gringo" has been used for people from the U.S., especially Anglo Americans.
Before that, in the 1700s and early 1800s, "gringo" could mean an "unclear language" or refer to foreign soldiers. After the Mexican–American War, the word gringo started to be used only for people from the United States.
United States
In the United States, Latino Americans sometimes use gringo to refer to Anglo Americans. Some people see it as a racial slur against non-Hispanic white people. It can also mean any person who is not Latino. Among U.S. Latino communities, it might also be used in a negative way for another Latino person who is seen as not being culturally Latino, for example, if they cannot speak Spanish.
Other Regions
In Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Peru, the term "gringo" is sometimes used to describe blond people.
Other Ways "Gringo" Is Used
Food
In Mexican cuisine, a gringa is a type of tortilla dish. It's a flour tortilla with al pastor pork meat and cheese, cooked on a hot griddle called a comal. It's often served with a spicy sauce. Some people think it's called "gringa" because of the white flour used.
Activism
In 1969, José Ángel Gutiérrez, a leader of the Mexican American Youth Organization, said that he and his group used "gringo" differently. For them, it didn't mean non-Latinos. Instead, it meant people or groups that showed racism or violence.
See also
In Spanish: Gringo para niños
