comprachico
English
editEtymology
editCoined from Spanish roots by the French writer Victor Hugo in his 1869 novel L'Homme qui rit (The Man Who Laughs). The word is not generally known in Spanish.
Noun
editcomprachico (plural comprachicos)
- (folklore) A person who deliberately mutilates a growing child in order to induce freakish physical traits.
- 1969, Günther Weisenborn, The Man Without a Face, page 10:
- But here in England a comprachico is equal to a murderer, a candidate for the hangman's noose.
- 2016, George Eliot, Impressions of Theophrastus Such: Top Novelist Focus:
- He is angry and equips himself accordingly—with a penknife to give the offender a comprachico countenance, a mirror to show him the effect, and a pair of nailed boots to give him his dismissal.
Translations
editTranslations
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French
editEtymology
editFrom Spanish compar (“to buy”) + chico (“kid”), coined by Victor Hugo in 1869.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editcomprachico m (plural comprachicos)
Categories:
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Folklore
- English terms with quotations
- en:People
- French terms derived from Spanish
- French terms coined by Victor Hugo
- French coinages
- French 4-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:People