mojado
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish mojado (literally “wet”), from espalda mojada.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /moʊˈhɑdoʊ/
Noun
mojado (plural mojados)
- (US, slang) wetback
- 1984 June 24, Richard J. Meislin, “To Mexicans, Law on Aliens Is Cruel Joke”, in The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331:
- “They're trying to mess around with us,” said a 33-year-old carpenter who identified himself as Alfredo. “But there will still be work, and as long as there's work there will still be ‘mojados.’”
- 2005 May 18, Dana Stevens, “Pilgrimage Across the Border That Tempts but Dodges Fate”, in The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331:
- Mr. Davis provides his own (at times overly folksy) narration, telling us that since a 1994 federal law stepped up immigration patrols in urban centers, people like these mojados have been forced to reroute through the desert, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths from exposure, dehydration and injury in the last 10 years.
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See also
- illegal alien
Further reading
wetback (slur) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Spanish
Etymology
Past participle of mojar. Compare Portuguese molhado.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /moˈxado/ [moˈxa.ð̞o]
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ado
- Syllabification: mo‧ja‧do
Adjective
mojado (feminine mojada, masculine plural mojados, feminine plural mojadas)
- wet
- Antonym: seco
Derived terms
- papel mojado
- sueño mojado
Noun
mojado m (plural mojados, feminine mojada, feminine plural mojadas)
- (slang, derogatory) Ellipsis of espalda mojada (“wetback”).
Participle
mojado (feminine mojada, masculine plural mojados, feminine plural mojadas)
- past participle of mojar
Further reading
- “mojado”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014