pendejo
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish pendejo.
Noun
pendejo (plural pendejos)
- (US, slang, derogatory) A stupid person.
Usage notes
- Typically only used by Spanish-speaking people.
Spanish
Etymology
From Vulgar Latin *pectinī̆culum, diminutive of Latin pecten (“pubic hair, comb”). The unexpected /nd/ may be due to the influence of pender (“hang down, dangle”). Compare Portuguese pentelho.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /penˈdexo/ [pẽn̪ˈd̪e.xo]
- Rhymes: -exo
- Syllabification: pen‧de‧jo
Noun
pendejo m (plural pendejos)
- pubic hair (a single hair growing in the pubic region)
- Hypernym: vello púbico
Noun
pendejo m (plural pendejos, feminine pendeja, feminine plural pendejas)
- (derogatory, vulgar, chiefly Latin America) arsehole, asshole, dirtbag, scumbag (a contemptible person)
- (derogatory, chiefly Latin America) dumbass (stupid person)
- Synonyms: idiota, (Spain) gilipollas, (Argentina, Dominican Republic) boludo
- Paco reprobó el examen. Es un pinche pendejo.
- Paco failed the test. He's a fucking dumbass.
- (chiefly Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) young boy
- (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) punk (an adolescent who presumes to be an adult)
- (Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Panama, Puerto Rico) coward
- (Peru, vulgar) perspicacious, perceptive, cunning, smart, clever, scoundrel
- Le lanzaron un huevo a María. ¡Puta, qué pendejos!
- They threw an egg at María. They're so clever!
Usage notes
- Although in some contexts zonzo, bobo, tonto, menso, culero, tarado, idiota, imbécil, estúpido and pendejo may be synonyms, in most contexts they have a different degree of intensity, with zonzo having the mildest connotation, increasing in intensity in that rough order, to estúpido and pendejo, which have the most offensive meaning.
Derived terms
- hacerse el pendejo
- pendejada
- pendejear
Related terms
- peine
Further reading
- “pendejo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014