vato
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Spanish vato, ultimately from Spanish chivato. Term is mostly used by people from northwest Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua, Baja California).
Noun [edit]
vato (plural vatos)
Esperanto [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /ˈvato/
- Hyphenation: va‧to
Noun [edit]
vato (plural vatoj, accusative singular vaton, accusative plural vatojn)
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Malagasy [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, from Proto-Austronesian (compare Cebuano bato, Fijian vatu, Hawaiian haku, Hiligaynon bato, Ilocano bato, Indonesian batu, Kapampangan batu, Malay batu, Maori whatu, Sundanese batu, Tagalog bato).
Noun [edit]
vato
Spanish [edit]
Alternative forms [edit]
Etymology [edit]
According to the Chicano poet Luis Alberto Urrea, the word originated in Pachuco slang of the 1940s, and is derived from "the once-common friendly insult chivato or goat.[1]
Noun [edit]
vato m (plural vatos, feminine singular vata, feminine plural vatas)
Usage notes [edit]
This term may be used with intimate friends or as a derogatory reference. In some contexts, the term has gang connotations. The feminine form, vata, is also used by Chicano prostitutes to refer to a female who owes them money.
Sentence usage "The vato Harry Gonzalez is an idiot!"
Derived terms [edit]
- vato loco (“crazy dude”, “gangster”, “gangbanger”)
References [edit]
- ^ 2000 May 22, Luis Alberto Urrea; José Galvez, photographer, Vatos, El Paso: Cinco Puntos Press, ISBN 0-938317-52-0:
