Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A young, usually working-class Mexican-American man, especially one belonging to a subculture that often includes membership in a neighborhood gang.
  • noun In parts of Latin America, a person of indigenous American or mestizo heritage.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A child of mixed Spanish and Peruvian Indian parentage.
  • noun See chol-.
  • noun Any half-breed, but especially one of European and Indian descent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun ethnic slur, offensive A Mexican or Hispanic gang member or someone perceived to embody a similar stereotypical countenance

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[American Spanish : originally a derogatory word for a person of African and indigenous American ancestry, perhaps from a word in a pre-Columbian Antillean language meaning dog.]

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Examples

  • So, should he risk being called a cholo and ask his cousin, Johnny to bring his low-rider to school for his part of the Project?

    Archive 2008-03-01 tanita davis 2008

  • So, should he risk being called a cholo and ask his cousin, Johnny to bring his low-rider to school for his part of the Project?

    The WritingYA Weblog: The Voices of the River tanita davis 2008

  • The cholo was a squat, powerful little man, with more bounce to him than a rubber ball; leading his men by a dozen yards, he hesitated not an instant but dodged under the blow Bryce lashed out at him and came up inside the latter's guard, feeling for Bryce's throat.

    The Valley of the Giants 1918

  • But for many other Mexican nationals and Mexican-Americans, the word "cholo" has come to be associated with the criminal element - and even worse for ironically, a Chicano group in Arizona, which compared "Chola" to the "N"-word.

    The Guardian World News Ben Trott 2011

  • The immense social divide between the haves and have-nots in Peru, between the predominantly urban white bourgeoisie and the mainly "cholo" and Indian working class and peasantry, has not changed.

    unknown title 2009

  • i mean not a real "cholo" the guys who dress like one?

    Yahoo! Answers: Latest Questions 2008

  • Special sections of the exhibition are dedicated to cholo graffiti and Dogtown skateboard culture, as well as projects by influential local artists such as Craig R. Stecyk III, Chaz Bojórquez, Mister Cartoon, RETNA, SABER, REVOK, and RISK.

    Bettina Korek: Plan ForYourArt: April 14-20 Bettina Korek 2011

  • When he slipped into the classroom forty minutes late, he felt like a badass, not at all the sophomore who was bullied daily by the bandana'd cholo from Chula Vista, nor the awkward virgin who had to hide the obvious erection in his crotch with a Pee Chee.

    Cholo Fred Osuna 2011

  • But by the time the cholo had grasped the new order, the driver was pulling into the school parking lot.

    Cholo Fred Osuna 2011

  • The Gay in me says, It makes him look like a cholo.

    Bull Chris Okum 2012

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