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gau·cho

(gouchō)

n. pl. gau·chos

1. A cowboy of the South American pampas.

2. gauchos Calf-length pants with flared legs.

[South American Spanish (Argentina and Uruguay), perhaps from Latin American Spanish gaucho, orphaned, stray (compare Colombian Spanish variant guaucho), from Quechua wahcha, variant of wakcha, landless, orphaned, poor.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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