Pendejo
|
Pendejo is a vulgar term of abuse in the Spanish language. To call a person a pendejo is essentially to call him stupid, although it also carries implications of willful stubbornness and rank ineptitude. The female equivalent is pendeja; either form can be used as a noun or an adjective. The insult is particularly prevalent in the Spanish spoken in North and Central America, where it is considered moderately to highly offensive. In terms of equivalent cultural impact, it ranges somewhere at the level of the British English "wanker" or the U.S. English "asshole". The term is also used in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, where it also means "immature" (again, in a derogatory sense).
The literal meaning of pendejo is "strand of pubic hair". Etymologically it comes from the Latin pectiniculus.
In February 2004, reacting to the flight of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from Haiti during opposition revolts, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez used the word in reference to U.S. President George W. Bush for the U.S.'s refusal to participate in restoring Aristide to power.
On Barrapunto, the Spanish-language clone of the Slashdot internet forum, the initial name of the Anonymous Coward user was Pendejo sin nombre ("nameless prick"). The administrators subsequently deemed this too offensive and changed it to Pobrecito Hablador ("poor little talker"), one of the pseudonyms of the 19th-century Spanish author Mariano José de Larra.