Guiri () is a colloquial Spanish word often used in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

to refer to uncouth foreign tourists, particularly from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

. However, it can be applied to people from other Northern European countries. In some Latin American countries, a synonym for guiri is

gringo ''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) (or ''gringa'' (feminine)) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner, usually an English-speaking Anglo-American. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is ...

. Although somewhat pejorative, it is not considered a slur by Spanish speakers if used as a lighthearted tease.

Sources

According to the

Real Academia The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated wi ...

Dictionary, this word can be traced back to 19th century

Carlist Wars The Carlist Wars () were a series of civil wars that took place in Spain during the 19th century. The contenders fought over claims to the throne, although some political differences also existed. Several times during the period from 1833 to 18 ...

in the form "guiristino", the pronunciation of Basque-speaking Carlist forces of the name of their enemies, the Cristinos (after regent Queen María Cristina). It entered the Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española in 1925. When a "guiri" would be the term used by the opposing political parties of the time, later to be exclusively used for the Guardia Civil and Policía Armada (Armed Police) under the Francoist régime. There is another theory by

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

that ''guiri'' is a neologism from

Caló language Caló (; ; ; ) is a language spoken by the Spanish and Portuguese Romani. It is a mixed language (referred to as a Para-Romani language in Romani linguistics) based on Romance grammar, with an adstratum of Romani lexical items through languag ...

which derives from Moroccan and Algerian Arabic ''gaouri'' (a word with a similar meaning applying to Europeans), which in turn stems from Ottoman Turkish '' gâvur''.''Pesquisas en la obra tardía de Juan Goytisolo''
page 66
Volumen 33 de Foro hispánico, , Brigitte Adriaensen, Marco Kunz, Rodopi, 2009, , . Quotes ''Estambul otomano'', page 62,

, 1989, Barcelona, Planeta.

References

{{ethnic slurs Ethnonyms Carlism Catalan language Spanish language Tourism in Spain