Definitions

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

  • noun A light, collared, usually short-sleeved shirt having buttons and pleats down the front and often large pockets, and typically worn outside the pants.

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

  • noun A light, open-necked shirt worn by men in Latin America and the West Indies.

Etymologies

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

[American Spanish, perhaps from Spanish guayaba, guava (from the fact that the pockets are suitable for holding guavas); see guava, or alteration of (camisa) yayabera, (shirt) in the Yayabo River style (after the Yayabo, River in central Cuba).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Spanish guayabera.

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Examples

  • The true charm of a guayabera lies not in innovative designs but in the classic comfort and versatility that make an enthusiast like 33-year-old Jeff Rosendahl in Los Angeles call his guayabera "the best shirt I own."

    Tropical And Topical 2008

  • "The guayabera has been a part of the history of our country for a long time and constitutes one of the most authentic and legitimate expressions of Cubanism," the resolution said.

    SFGate: Top News Stories By WILL WEISSERT 2010

  • My bet is that most guys prefer the guayabera over the suit and tie under any and all circumstances.

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • I could be wearing long pants, a guayabera (sp?), and a white cowboy hat (as many locals do, espcially those coming into town from the country) and no one would ever mistake me for a Mexican.

    CLOTHES - what's hot and what's not in Mexico 2009

  • My bet is that most guys prefer the guayabera over the suit and tie under any and all circumstances.

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Another difference here: at relatively dressy occasions you often see a gentleman wearing slacks and a fancy, well-ironed and starched guayabera.

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Another difference here: at relatively dressy occasions you often see a gentleman wearing slacks and a fancy, well-ironed and starched guayabera.

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

  • Sometimes on special occasions he wears slacks with a guayabera shirt.

    Page 2 2009

  • Sometimes on special occasions he wears slacks with a guayabera shirt.

    Page 2 2009

  • My bet is that most guys prefer the guayabera over the suit and tie under any and all circumstances.

    how to "pass" for a Mexican 2009

Comments

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  • He had soft, white, fat hands and a plump face and wore a white guayabera shot with gold threads.

    —Jeffrey Eugenides, 2002, Middlesex, p. 459

    August 17, 2008