English
machetero
Machetero comes from Spanish machetero ‘someone who wields a machete’, and goes back to macho ‘sledgehammer’.
- Spanishc. 1500–presentmacho‘sledgehammer’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentmachete
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentmachetero‘someone who wields a machete’
- Englishearliest quotation 2003same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Spanishc. 1500–presentmacho‘sledgehammer’
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentmachete
- Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentmachetero‘someone who wields a machete’
- Englishearliest quotation 2003same form
Earliest quotation: 2003, Lee Lockwood, Castro's Cuba: “Castro is talking about plans to increase the use…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *met- ‘to cut (by measure)’
through Spanish macho ‘sledgehammer’
Today it means
noun Someone who wields a machete.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Spanish macho / machetero