güey

Spanish

Etymology

Variant of buey (see that entry for more), ultimately from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws; this form thus represents a de-shifting of /b/ back to /ɡw/. Compare güeno, agüelo, güelvo, where /bwe/ becomes /ɡwe/. This mutation is considered nonstandard for Spanish. (akin phenomenon to dialectal pronunciation of Lithuanian buvai as /ɡwuei/)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡwei/ [ˈɡwei̯]

Noun

güey m or f (plural güeyes)

1. (Mexico, colloquial slang) chump, punk, dumbass, idiot, jerk
2. (Mexico, colloquial slang) dude, guy, buddy

Synonyms

• (idiot): cabrón, tonto
• (dude): carnal (Mexico), cuate (Mexico), tío m / tía f (Spain)