carajo

Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] Spanish

[edit] Etymology

The etymology is unknown, but the most plausible source on the basis of both semantics and historical phonology appears to be unattested Latin *c(h)araculum, which would have been a Latinized diminutive of Greek charax 'stick'. This also provides a single, phonologically coherent source for the cognates Portuguese caralho and Catalan carall. Attempts to attribute carajo and Italian cazzo to the same etymon fail on phonological grounds, as the /r/ of carajo (or its absence in cazzo) remains unexplained, and no Latin phonological sequence develops as both /x/ in Spanish and /tts/ in Italian.

[edit] Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kaˈɾaxo/

[edit] Noun

carajo m. (plural carajos)

  1. (Spain) penis
  2. crow’s nest

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Interjection

carajo

  1. (South America, Northwestern Spain) shit!
    ¿Qué carajo quieres? — What the shit do you want?
    ¡Vete al carajo! — Go to hell!
    Me importa un carajo. — I don’t give a shit.
    ¡Aquí hay un pueblo digno, Yanquis de mierda! ¡Vayanse al carajo cien veces! — We are a dignified people, you bullshit-assed Yankees! Go to shitting hell 100 times! (Used by Hugo Chávez about George W. Bush.)

[edit] Usage notes

This is considered to be a taboo word by many in South America and is replaced by the euphemistic forms caramba or carrizo depending on the context and in which country the term is used.

Personal tools
Namespaces
Variants
Views
Actions
Navigation
Toolbox
In other languages