Spanish edit

Etymology edit

From México +‎ -eño.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

mexiqueño (feminine mexiqueña, masculine plural mexiqueños, feminine plural mexiqueñas)

  1. (relational, very rare, nonstandard) of Mexico City
    Synonyms: capitalino, defeño, (slang) chilango

Noun edit

mexiqueño m (plural mexiqueños, feminine mexiqueña, feminine plural mexiqueñas)

  1. (very rare, nonstandard) native or inhabitant of Mexico City
    Synonyms: capitalino, defeño, (slang) chilango

Usage notes edit

This term was first cited in the DRAE in its edition published in 2001, per the request of the Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, since there was no explicit term for Mexico City's inhabitants.[1][2] However, in the time since then, the word has seen little usage, to the point that José G. Moreno de Alba, the then-President of the Mexican Academy, openly wrote in 2006 that he's never seen nor heard anyone use the word and recommended that it be deleted from the DRAE.[1] The word has also sparked heavy debate in its usage, especially during Mexico City's transition from being the Federal District.[3][4][5] Facing this pushback, the word was quietly deleted from the DRAE with no explanation in its 2022 update.[6][7] The word could thus be described as an example of a ghost word.

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 José G. Moreno de Alba (2006) “mexiqueño, defeño”, in Minucias del lenguaje[1], Academia Mexicana de la Lengua
  2. ^ “mexiqueño”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición[2], Real Academia Española, 2014, archived from the original on October 2, 2022
  3. ^ Darío Brooks (2017 September 5) “Cómo se crea un gentilicio y por qué nadie se pone de acuerdo con el de Ciudad de México [How a demonyn is made and why no one agrees on one for Mexico City]”, in BBC News Mundo[3]
  4. ^ Redacción El Universal (2016 January 22) “Mexiqueño o capitalino ¿Cuál será nuestro nuevo gentilicio? [Mexiqueño or capitalino, which one will be our new demonym?]”, in El Universal[4], CDMX
  5. ^ Jorge A. Romerom (2016 January 26) “¿«Defeño», «chilango», «mexica» o «mexiqueño»?”, in Noticias del español[5], Fundéu RAE
  6. ^ Francisco Ríos (2023 January 28) “Desaparece el «mexiqueño» ["Mexiqueño" disappears]”, in La Voz de Galicia[6]
  7. ^ [Search results for mexiqueño]”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición[7], Real Academia Española, 2022, archived from the original on November 20, 2023