guiri

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Basque giristino, the Basque adaptation of the Spanish cristino, the term for the liberal forces in the Spanish Carlist Wars, after the then Queen Cristina.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡiɾi/ [ˈɡi.ɾi]
• Rhymes: -iɾi
• Syllabification: gui‧ri

Noun

guiri m (plural guiris)

1. (botany) gorse, furze

   Synonym: tojo

Noun

guiri m or f by sense (plural guiris)

1. (historical) a supporter of Queen Isabella II of Spain

   Synonym: cristino

2. (Spain, colloquial, ethnic slur) A pale-skinned English or Germanic tourist.
   • 2019 May 16, Àlex Montoya, “'City for Sale': alerta turista en Barcelona”, in El Mundo‎^[1]:

     Las políticas de la vivienda, con carta blanca para la especulación y el gangsterismo inmobiliario, y la invasión guiri, como Daenerys a lomos de Drogon, son armas de destrucción masiva […]

     Housing politics, with a carte blanche for speculation, real estate gangsterism and the guiri invasion, like Daenerys riding the back of Drogon, are weapons of mass destruction […]

3. (dated, Spain, colloquial) police agent from la Guardia Civil

Derived terms

• guirilandia

 

References

• guiri in Using Spanish synonyms, By Ronald Ernest Batchelor, p. 312 .
• DRAE Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua, originally 1925 (defined as a 'Carlist'), and later versions

Further reading

• “guiri”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28