amigo

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish amigo (“friend”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} recorded in Spanish from the 12th century,^[2] from Latin amīcus (“friend”),^{[2][3][4][5][7]} from its accusative amīcum.^[6] The Latin noun is related to amō (“to love”),^[3][4] and so to amicable and amateur.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A friend, a comrade: 1813, in T. Ashe's History of the Azores.^[2] Etymonline and Barnhart date the word to 1837, as American English,^[3][6] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to 1831.^[4]

Semantic evolution

As a form of address, "friend", the word is recorded from 1830, in E. Temple's travels in Peru.^[2] Etymonline's first record, from 1837, is the phrase adios, Amigo in the New York Mirror,^[3][8] and Green's Dictionary of Slang has the affectionate American term of address from 1897.^[9] The Dictionary of American Regional English marks it as a word of the Southwest that is known throughout the United States,^[8] and the Shorter Oxford labels it colloquial and chiefly American.^[10] In the plural it can also mean simply "guys".^[2]

Timeline

• 1813 – a friend, a comrade.^[2]
• 1830 – as a form of address.^[2] Etymonline's first record, adios, Amigo, is from 1837.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A friend or comrade.^[4][7][2]
2. Used as a friendly form of address: See you tomorrow, amigo.^[2][9][10]

Related words

• amicable
• amateur

Usage notes

The word is chiefly American and colloquial;^[10] it is most common in the Southwest of the United States, but known throughout the country.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b c Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
10. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press