abuelo

Hiligaynon

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish abuelo.

Noun

abuélo

1. grandfather

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Spanish

Alternative forms

• agüelo (eye dialect)

Etymology

Origin uncertain. Possibly from Latin *aviōlus, from Classical Latin avus (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os (“grandfather”)) + -olus.. Compare Asturian güelu, French aïeul, Galician avó, Portuguese avô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈbwelo/, [aˈβwelo]
• (dialectal) IPA^(key): /aˈwelo/
• (dialectal) IPA^(key): /aˈɡwelo/, [aˈɣwelo]

Noun

abuelo m (plural abuelos, feminine abuela, feminine plural abuelas)

1. grandfather

   Su abuelo es simpático.

   His grandfather is nice.

2. (colloquial, affectionate) an elderly person
3. loose tufts of hair in the nape when one's hair is messed up

Usage notes

The noun abuelo is like several other Spanish nouns with a human referent. The masculine forms are used when the referent is known to be male, a group of males, a group of mixed or unknown gender, or an individual of unknown or unspecified gender. The feminine forms are used if the referent is known to be female or a group of females.

Synonyms

• (loose tufts of hair): tolano

Derived terms

• abolengo
• abuelado
• abuelito
• bisabuelo

Descendants

• → Hiligaynon: abuélo
• → Papiamentu: welo

References

Further reading

• “abuelo” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.