what does the word "gringo" means?does someone knows where it cames from?

Answer 1

A recurring false etymology for the derivation of gringo states that it originated during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. It has been claimed that Gringo comes from "green coat" and was used in reference to the American soldiers and the green color of their uniforms. Yet another story, from Mexico, holds that Mexicans with knowledge of the English language used to write "greens go home" on street walls referring to the color of the uniforms of the invading army; subsequently, it became a common habitual action for the rest of the population to yell "green go" whenever U.S. soldiers passed by. This is an example of an invented explanation, because gringo was used in Spanish long before the war and during the Mexican-American War. Additionally, the U.S. Army did not use green uniforms at the time, but blue ones.

The true origin of gringo is most likely that it came from griego, the Spanish word for "Greek." In Spanish, as in English, something difficult or impossible to understand is referred to as being Greek: We say "It's Greek to me," just as in Spanish an incomprehensible person is said to hablar en griego (i.e., "speak in Greek"). The English version of the proverb shows up in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1599), when Casca, one of the conspirators against Caesar, proclaims:


Nay, an I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again; but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me.

Answer 2

Gringo (feminine, gringa) is a term in the Spanish and Portuguese languages used in some countries of Latin America to refer to foreigners from different cultures (from the United States especially, but also from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere, including sometimes other countries of Latin America itself).

Answer 3

Gringo is spanish for cracker

Answer 4

I know the story, but everytime I answer questions of this nature I always get negative feed back. E-mail me and I will tell you there. Or you can look at the answer above mine. It actually began when Gernal Pershing was sent in to Mexico looking for Pancho Villa after he attacked Columbus N.M. (During Mexico's Revolutionary War)

Answer 5

Definitions of gringo on the Web:

Any white foreigner, though often specifically those from English-speaking countries; historically European immigrants to Argentina (as opposed to criollos), as in pampa gringa, the part of pampa settled by European immigrants.
http://www.infohub.com/Destinations/South-America/Argentina/85480.htm

foreigner, usually applies to an Anglo-Saxon.
http://www.laokay.com/halac/Glossary.htm

a Latin American (disparaging) term for foreigners (especially Americans and Englishmen)
http://www.wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Gringo (feminine, gringa) is a term in the Spanish and Portuguese languages, with various related meanings, and often misunderstood by English speakers.
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringo

Answer 6

YES.. I BELIEVE I CAME FROM.. THE WAR.. WHERE SOLDIERS.. WERE DRESSED IN GREEN... AND PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH WOULD TRY TO TELL THEME TO GO.. ALL THEY.. COULD COME OUT WITH WAS.. "GREEN GO"... AND THAN IT BECAME. GRINGO..... THIS IS HOW YOU WOULD WRITE THE SOUND IN SPANISH.. (DON'T KNOW WHAT WAR.. OR WHO WOULD SAY IT DOUGH.. BUT I WAS TOLD THIS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER)

Answer 7

toniux is right. it comes from "green, go!"
in the way that it is used now, it is not derogatory (like whoever said it was like the n-word, they are absolutely wrong). in mexico it is often used as another word for "american". you seeee, in mexico ppl are not as prone to freaking out over describing someone from their appearance. in the US, any comments about skin color will get fingers pointing and get you called a racist. hope this helps. i dont know too much about other countries

Answer 8

gringo means white person its like using the "n" word for black people its a racial slur. I believe it came from columbians.

Answer 9

It's not always derogatory. It depends on how it's used. It could even be friendly.

Answer 10

It's a derogatory term for an American. It came from Mexicans.