mojado

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mojado (literally “wet”), from espalda mojada.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moʊˈhɑdoʊ/

Noun

mojado (plural mojados)

1. (US, slang) wetback
   • 1984 June 24, Richard J. Meislin, “To Mexicans, Law on Aliens Is Cruel Joke”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “They're trying to mess around with us,” said a 33-year-old carpenter who identified himself as Alfredo. “But there will still be work, and as long as there's work there will still be ‘mojados.’”

   • 2005 May 18, Dana Stevens, “Pilgrimage Across the Border That Tempts but Dodges Fate”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Mr. Davis provides his own (at times overly folksy) narration, telling us that since a 1994 federal law stepped up immigration patrols in urban centers, people like these mojados have been forced to reroute through the desert, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths from exposure, dehydration and injury in the last 10 years.

See also

• illegal alien

Further reading

• wetback (slur) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Spanish

Etymology

Past participle of mojar. Compare Portuguese molhado.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈxado/ [moˈxa.ð̞o]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ado
• Syllabification: mo‧ja‧do

Adjective

mojado (feminine mojada, masculine plural mojados, feminine plural mojadas)

1. wet

   Antonym: seco

Derived terms

• papel mojado
• sueño mojado

 

Noun

mojado m (plural mojados, feminine mojada, feminine plural mojadas)

1. (slang, derogatory) Ellipsis of espalda mojada (“wetback”).

Participle

mojado (feminine mojada, masculine plural mojados, feminine plural mojadas)

1. past participle of mojar

Descendants

• Chavacano: mojao

Further reading

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