Talk:guapo
Latest comment: 10 years ago by Gianluca Gorni in topic Strange etymology
Are you sure about the etymology? If it is correct, could someone elaborate on the fact that the negative meaning changed? Mallerd 22:10, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
- I'm rather confused about this too, I don't understand how worthless>handsome. Maybe some disparaging slang by prejudicial ugly beauty-hating peoples? Ty 08:33, 28 March 2010 (UTC)
Strange etymology edit
It is indeed strange that "guapo" (beautiful) comes from "vappa" which meant "worthless person". In Neapolitan the word "guappo" means a dressed-up thug. I assume that the meaning changed like this: worthless > worthless but dressed up > dressed up > beautiful. Compare how the English "pimp" has led to the slang "pimp up" with positive connotations. Gianluca Gorni (talk) 18:46, 24 September 2013 (UTC)