gañán

See also: ganan and gañan

Spanish

Etymology

Unknown, with mainly two Germanic and Arabic etymologies considered. The traditional early proposition was a descent from Latin ganeō (“glutton, libertine”), but this has been mostly discarded. The DRAE considers the ultimate source to be Arabic غَنَّام (ḡannām, “shepherd”). Coromines favours a derivation from Middle French gaignant (“unskilled laborer, lout, ruffian, etc.”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaˈɲan/ [ɡaˈɲãn]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: ga‧ñán

Noun

gañán m (plural gañanes)

1. (derogatory, Spain) Stupid and bad-mannered rural man from the Spanish countryside; yokel, hick
2. farmhand

Further reading

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

Etymology (in Spanish)