arrapiezo

Spanish

Etymology

Possibly from arrapo, a variant of harapo (“rag”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /araˈpjeθo/ [a.raˈpje.θo]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /araˈpjeso/ [a.raˈpje.so]
• Rhymes: -eθo
• Rhymes: -eso
• Syllabification: a‧rra‧pie‧zo

Noun

arrapiezo m (plural arrapiezos, feminine arrapieza, feminine plural arrapiezas)

1. (derogatory or humorous) ragamuffin, whippersnapper
   • 1911, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Dulce sueño:

     La gente también me escudriña, ávida de acercarse, con hostil e irónica curiosidad chulesca. Todos ellos -mendigos, arrapiezos, golfería, lavanderas, obreros […]

     The people were also eying me up, keen to approach, with a hostile, ironic and cocky curiosity. All of them, beggars, ragamuffins, scoundrels, washerwomen, laborers […]

2. rag

Further reading

• “arrapiezo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10