cholo

Borrowed from Spanish cholo, of uncertain origin.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃoʊloʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: (General American) -oʊloʊ

cholo (plural cholos)

1. (derogatory) A Mexican or Hispanic gang member, or somebody perceived to embody similar characteristics.

   Coordinate term: chola

   • 1999, Dorothy Leonard-Barton, Walter C. Swap, When Sparks Fly: Igniting Creativity in Groups, page 87:

     When Converse's cool-hunter DeeDee Gordon was in Los Angeles, she saw white teenage girls dressing like cholos, or Mexican gangsters, wearing tight white tank tops known as "wife beaters," a bra strap hanging out, long shorts, tube socks, and shower sandals.

• “cholo”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• looch, ochlo-

cholo

1. swallow

Unknown etymology. Hypotheses include:

• From Classical Nahuatl xolotl ("dog").
• From Classical Nahuatl xolo ("servant").

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃolo/ [ˈt͡ʃo.lo]
• Rhymes: -olo
• Syllabification: cho‧lo

cholo m (plural cholos, feminine chola, feminine plural cholas)

1. (South America, derogatory) mestizo, person of mixed European and various degrees of Amerindian descent, especially if the person is poor

   Synonyms: ladino, mestizo

2. (Mexico, historical) a poor Mexican, often living in California during 19th century
3. (Mexico, US, informal) a person belonging to a street gang

   Synonyms: pandillero, marero, gángster

• → English: cholo

cholo (feminine chola, masculine plural cholos, feminine plural cholas) (colloquial, El Salvador)

1. ripped, with defined muscles

   Synonyms: musculoso, (El Salvador) cholotón

   Mi hijo ya se está poniendo cholo ahora que va al gimnasio.

   My son is getting ripped now that he goes to the gym.

2. skillful (especially in a sport, but also figuratively in a dancing style, chess or a science)

   Synonyms: diestro, habilidoso

   Sí, él es bien cholo en taekwondo. Ha estado yendo cuatro días a la semana por años.

   Yes, he's pretty good in taekwondo. He's been going four days a week for years.

• “cholo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28