# origin of the word GRINGO **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 15, 2001, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-gringo/54583 "2001-02-15T14:42:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-gringo/54583/1 "2001-02-15T14:42:46Z")
this is important to me as an american living in Brazil [gringoes.com](http://www.gringoes.com) says (after serious search this was the best, and unca Cec doesnt address this question - that I could find- most common thought is that its a term from the Mexican american war, U.S. troops had green uniforms, the Mexicans would shout at them “GREEN GO” - right, “it is unlikely the Mexicans would have been speaking English and also the word had already croped up in Spanish as far back as the18th century. The most likely source of the term derives from the word griego, Spanish for Greek, which has long been used as a convenient metaphor for anything foreign and unintelligible. Even the Romans had a Latin phrase for the feeling of being stymied by the unfamiliar: “Graecum est; non potest legi” meaning “It is Greek – it cannot be read,” or as we say today, “It’s all Greek to me.”” Can anybody do better then this? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-gringo/54583/2 "2001-02-15T14:54:11Z")
This is from the farthest reaches of my memory, but I recall that one explanation is that it came from Americans singing a popular song of the times - “Green grow the lilacs all sparkling with dew / I’m lonely my darling since parting with you.” ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-gringo/54583/3 "2001-02-15T15:18:42Z")
Webster’s New Collegiate says a variation of _griego_, “Greek”, used for any foreigner (but especially English speakers). Much like the English phrase “It’s Greek to me”. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-gringo/54583/4 "2001-02-15T15:21:55Z")
Most authorities (like the [American Heritage Dictionary](http://www.bartleby.com/61/25/G0272500.html) go with the “greek” explanation. “Green go the lilacs” is pretty thoroughly discredited and the idea that the Mexicans would be cheering on American soldiers in English is preposterous on the face of it (not to mention the fact that paintings of the war show U.S. soldiers in blue uniforms, not green). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-word-gringo/54583/5 "2001-02-15T17:09:39Z")
By coincidence, I looked this up just yesterday. The Greek explanation makes sense to me. See the [word detective](http://www.word-detective.com/020798.html#gringo) They say the word dates to 1787.