trapo

English

Etymology

Contraction of traditional politician; also influenced by Tagalog trapo (“rag”), from Spanish trapo.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtrapəʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtræpoʊ/
• (Philippines) IPA^(key): /ˌtrɑˈpo/
• Hyphenation: tra‧po

Noun

trapo (plural trapos)

1. (Philippines, slang, derogatory) corrupt politician

Anagrams

• atrop-, Prato, aport, porta-, op art, Porta, porta

Bikol Central

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish trapo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾapo/ [ˈtɾa.po]
• Hyphenation: tra‧po

Noun

trápo (Basahan spelling ᜆ᜔ᜍᜉᜓ)

1. rag

   Synonyms: yamit, pamunas

Derived terms

• magtrapo
• trapohan
• trapohon

 

Galician

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin drappus (“piece of cloth”), which is of Indo-European origin (compare Lithuanian drãpanos (“clothes, laundry”)), but perhaps neither Germanic nor Celtic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾapo/ [ˈt̪ɾa.pʊ]
• Rhymes: -apo
• Hyphenation: tra‧po

Noun

trapo m (plural trapos)

1. cloth (woven fabric)

   Synonym: pano

2. tatter; rag

   Synonyms: farrapo, galdrapo, milfo

3. diaper

   Synonym: cueiro

4. sail (piece of fabric attached to a boat)

   Synonym: pano

Derived terms

• a todo trapo
• trapallada
• trapalleiro
• trapallo

 

References

• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “trapo”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “trapo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “trapo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “trapo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Etymology

From Late Latin trapus, alternative form of drappus (“piece of cloth”), probably from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”), from Proto-Germanic *drepaną (“to beat, strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrebʰ- (“to beat, crush, make or become thick”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾa.pu/

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -apu
• Hyphenation: tra‧po

Noun

trapo m (plural trapos)

1. tatter (a shred of torn cloth)

   Synonyms: farrapo, frangalho, pano

2. rag (piece of old cloth)

Derived terms

• a todo trapo
• estar um trapo

Sambali

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish trapo (“rug”).

Noun

trapo

1. rug

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Late Latin drappus (“cloth”), probably from Frankish *drapi, *drāpi (“that which is fulled, drabcloth”). Compare French drap, drapeau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾapo/ [ˈt̪ɾa.po]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -apo
• Syllabification: tra‧po

Noun

trapo m (plural trapos)

1. (cleaning) rag, piece of cloth used for cleaning, washing or drying (tea towel, dish towel, dish cloth, dust cloth, paper towel)

   Synonym: paño

2. (cloth) any piece of cloth
   1. rag (derogative for a flag)
3. (figurative) clothing, clothes

   Synonyms: ropa, traste

Usage notes

• Trapo is a false friend, and does not mean trap. The Spanish word for trap is trampa or atrapar.

Derived terms

• como un trapo
• entrar al trapo
• estar hecho un trapo
• lengua de trapo
• trapear
• trapero
• trapos de cristianar
• trapos sucios

 

Descendants

• → Tagalog: trapo
• → Tausug: tarapu, trapu

Further reading

• “trapo”, 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

Anagrams

• optar
• parto
• porta
• potar
• topar
• tropa

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈtɾapo/ [ˈt̪ɾaː.po]
• Rhymes: -apo
• Syllabification: tra‧po

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish trapo (“rag”).

Noun

trapo (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜇᜉᜓ)

1. rag; cleaning rag

   Synonyms: basahan, pamunas

Alternative forms

• tarapo

Etymology 2

Contraction of English traditional politician.

Noun

trapo (Baybayin spelling ᜆ᜔ᜇᜉᜓ)

1. (slang, derogatory) corrupt politician

Further reading

• “trapo”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

• tropa