new thread
Hi everybody,
I have two questions for speakers of Spanish and for experts about Latin America:
1) ¿cuando se utilize la palabra "pelo", y cuando la palbra "cabello"?
2) What is the situation of male long-hairs in Uruguay? Is it an issue at all?
Si prefieres, puedes responder en Español. I'll figure it out.
¡Muchas gracias!
Hans-Uwe
As a language teacher (Latin) and sometime speaker of Spanish, I am interested in the native-speakers of Spanish answer to your question. However, I can tell you that both pelo and cabello appear to be off-shoots of the Latin word for hair: capillus. And the word for hair in Latin is clearly connected to the Latin word for head: caput. cabello is a direct link from capillus, and I am guessing that pelo was originally shortened from capillus. I am also betting that there are regional preferences--some Spanish speaking countries prefer one term over another. I have colleagues in my department at work who are natives of Mexico and Puerto Rico. I will ask them on Monday which terms they use.
Robert
Hi Robert,
thanks for the info and thanks in advance for contacting your colleagues. - If I remember correctly, there's one other Latin word for hair - crinis....
Looking forward to hearing more,
Hans-Uwe
Yes, crinis. Though, my only encounter with this word is in love poetry where the (male) poet waxes on about his girl's "crines"--usually translated "locks" of hair. For some reason, I have the sense that they also refer to coiffed locks of hair, done up with ribbons, etc. I'll do a little looking around on that one.
Robert
In "Ecce," Aurelia verberabat ancillam cum ancilla non bene crines Aureliae facta est!
One example in history: The merovingian kings in the 500-700's were also called "Regis Crinitis", or "Rois Chevelus" translated to "Long-haired kings". The French word "Crinière" simply means mane as on a lion or a horse, and ofthen used on a person (Especially a long-haired guy) The term is seldom used on a long-haired woman, since in nature, only the male lion has a "crinière".
Have a nice day,
Georges in Montreal.
I am including a French Tabloid cover page about the great catastrophe of 1966 (It is humour)
Cabello refers to hair specifically on the head; pelo is any kind of hair; vello is hair on the body; barba is beard; barbeado is bearded.
Argentine Spanish or the Rio del La Plata area (including Uruguay) has some diffences of course, like the 'll' sounds kind of like 'che.'
They say that when Ernesto Guevara was in Chile, he got the name, 'Che,' from pronouncing the 'll' this way. Who knows?
I'm no native speaker though! It'll be interesting to see what Robert's friends say.
Adios!
Hi Bragi,
thanks for your info. In French, the scalp hairs are "cheveux", and the other body hair is called "poil". A "poilu" is a soldier in the trenches who has had no opportunity to shave.
By the way, I hope your new university job is coming along soon - or has it already?
Best wishes,
Hans-Uwe
I'm not Spanish, but isn't cabello used only with human beings? Pelo can be used both for humans and animals.
According to Google "pelo largo" is five times more frequent than "cabello largo"
pelo se usa para nombrar todo "pelo" en el cuerpo i en animales
cabello es el pelo de la cabeza
Muchas Gracias!
Hans-Uwe