tío

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tio"

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese tio, from Late Latin thīum, from Ancient Greek θεῖος (theîos). Compare Portuguese tio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtiʊ/

Noun

tío m (plural tíos, feminine tía, feminine plural tías)

1. uncle

   Synonym: titío

   O meu tío é o irmán da miña nai ou do meu pai.

   My uncle is my mother’s or father’s brother.

2. (colloquial) unknown male person, dude, guy

   E ese tío gritoume.

   And that guy yelled at me.

3. mister (title conferred on an adult male)

   Synonym: señor

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “with regard to gender”): tía
• (antonym(s) of “with regard to ancestry”): sobriño, sobriña

Derived terms

• tío avó
• tío carnal

Further reading

• “tío”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, since 2012
• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “tío”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish tio, from Late Latin thius, from Ancient Greek θεῖος (theîos). Compare Italian zio, Galician tío and Portuguese tio, Sardinian tiu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtio/ [ˈt̪i.o]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -io
• Syllabification: tí‧o

Noun

tío m (plural tíos, feminine tía, feminine plural tías)

1. uncle (the brother, brother-in-law, or male cousin or cousin-in-law of either parent)

   Coordinate terms: sobrino, sobrina

   Mi tío es el hermano o primo de mi madre o de mi padre.

   My uncle is my mother’s or father’s brother or male cousin.

2. (colloquial, Spain) unknown or any male person, dude, guy

   Synonyms: tipo, (Chile) gallo; see also Thesaurus:tío

   Y ese tío me gritó. ― And that guy yelled at me.

3. (colloquial, Spain) friend, mate, pal, man, bro

   Synonym: (Mexico) cuate

   Tío, ¿me puedes ayudar por un momento?

   Can you help me for a moment, mate?

4. mister (title conferred on an adult male)

   Synonym: señor

Derived terms

• medio tío
• tío abuelo
• tío carnal
• tío materno
• tío paterno
• tío político
• tío segundo
• tío tercero

 

Descendants

• → Catalan: tio

Further reading

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