CHOLO Definition & Meaning

cholo

[ choh-loh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Chiefly Southwestern U.S.

plural cholos.

(especially among Mexican Americans) a teenage boy who is a member of a street gang.
Usually Disparaging. a term used to refer to a Mexican or Mexican American.
a mestizo of Spanish America.

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Sensitive Note

When used of a Mexican or Mexican American, the term cholo usually refers disparagingly to an immigrant who is considered to be low-class and poorly educated. However, cholo is also a term of self-reference used by Mexican American youths.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of cholo¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from Mexican Spanish: “mestizo, peasant,” possibly a shortening of ��Ǳ��Ǳ��á�� (from Nahuatl ��Ǳ�ō��, modern Cholula ), a city-state in pre-Columbian Mexico

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