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tocayo. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
tocayo, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
tocayo in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Spanish
Etymology
Unknown. First attested in 1739. Attributed by folk etymology to the Latin bridal formula "Ubi tū Gāius ego Gāia" (literally “where you are Gaius, I am Gaia”).
More likely a Mexican Spanish term from Classical Nahuatl tōcāyoh (“one who has a name, person of renown”), the possessive form of the noun tōcāitl (“name”), via its possessed form, as in notōcāyoh (“my name-haver, one having my name”); contrast with notōca (“my name”) and notōcāyō (“my fame”); compare synonymous colombroño, ultimately from Latin cōgnōmen (“surname, name”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /toˈkaʝo/
- IPA(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /toˈkaʃo/
- IPA(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /toˈkaʒo/
- Rhymes: -aʝo
- Syllabification: to‧ca‧yo
Noun
tocayo m (plural tocayos, feminine tocaya, feminine plural tocayas)
- namesake (person having the same name)
- Synonym: (rare) colombroño
1909, José de la Colina, De libertades fantasmas o de la literatuta como juego, Fondo de Cultura Economica, →ISBN:Pero espero que consienta usted en esta entrevista, puesto que se hará entre hermanos y tocayos. —Tú eres mi tocayo, pero no mi hermano. Para mí, eres un perfecto desconocido, o siquiera un imperfecto desconocido.- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
2007, Julio Cortázar, La vuelta al día en ochenta mundos, Siglo XXI de España Editores, →ISBN, page 7:A mi tocayo le debo el título de este libro y a Lester Young la libertad de alterarlo sin ofender la saga planetaria de Phileas Fogg, Esq. Una noche en que Lester llenaba de humo y lluvia la melodía de Three Little Words, sentí más que nunca […]- To my namesake I owe the title of this book and to Lester Young the freedom to alter it without offending the planetary saga of Phileas Fogg, Esq. One night when Lester was filling with smoke and rain the melody of Three Little Words, I felt more than ever
Descendants
References
- Carlos Montemayor et al. (2009) Diccionario del náhuatl en el español de México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, page 403
Further reading