1 definition by vitamin jay
If you travel around South America for any length of time, you'll come to realise that the word "gringo" there is generally synonymous with "foreigner", regardless of race or skin color.
For example an Argentinian is a gringo in Brasil, a Colombian is a gringo in Chile etc. It's used in both Spanish and Portuguese. Technically then, Latinos are the "gringos" in the US...
Most dictionaries say that it originally comes for the Spanish word for greek, which is "griego". This in turn dates back to a Medieval Latin phrase "Graecum est; non potest legi" (It is Greek; it cannot be read). A Spanish version of this is "hablar en griego", to speak Greek and therefore be unintelligible.
For example an Argentinian is a gringo in Brasil, a Colombian is a gringo in Chile etc. It's used in both Spanish and Portuguese. Technically then, Latinos are the "gringos" in the US...
Most dictionaries say that it originally comes for the Spanish word for greek, which is "griego". This in turn dates back to a Medieval Latin phrase "Graecum est; non potest legi" (It is Greek; it cannot be read). A Spanish version of this is "hablar en griego", to speak Greek and therefore be unintelligible.
by vitamin jay October 2, 2006