How do you spell gabacho or gavacho?

Many countries have derogatory names to call their neighbors-with whom historically they may not have got on very well-or make fun of them. This is what happened in the case of the Spaniards with the French, two adjoining peoples who have antagonized on more than one occasion. But what is the correct way to write this pejorative name: gabacho or gavacho ? If you have also ever questioned it, be sure to read this article to find the answer.

Frenchy

It seems that since the sixteenth century, the French have been 'rebaptized' contemptuously by their Spanish neighbors with the name: " gabacho " and the correct way to write it is this, with / -b /.

Apparently, the origin of this nickname can be found in the Occitan Gavach term , which was used with the meaning of " rustic mountaineer ", that is, someone rough and with difficulties to speak the language of the country correctly. However, it is also said to come from the pre-Roman term gaba, which meant "bird's craw" and "goiter", a disease that causes the appearance of a lump in the throat because of a diet low in iodine. And, to make matters worse, the mountaineers of the time followed a diet low in this mineral that caused this bulging in the throat of many.

* gavacho

In this way, we can say that it is incorrect to write "gavacho" with / -v /, since currently, the dictionary of the RAE collects gabacho as:

  • Natural of some town of the skirts of the Pyrenees or pertaining or relative to these towns.
  • In derogatory and colloquial language, French (applied to people).