*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of pocho

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish pocho (literally “discolored, faded”).

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A Mexican-American, especially one regarded by Mexicans as being assimilated into mainstream American culture, often implying limited to no fluency in Spanish and disconnection from Mexican culture. · Spanglish

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Mexican Spanish pocho (literally “discolored, faded”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es-MX",
        "3": "pocho",
        "lit": "discolored, faded"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Mexican Spanish pocho (literally “discolored, faded”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "pocho",
      "pocho#Spanish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Mexican-American, especially one regarded by Mexicans as being assimilated into mainstream American culture, often implying limited to no fluency in Spanish and disconnection from Mexican culture.",
        "Spanglish"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "derogatory",
        "informal",
        "often",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "30a938f240a17d590a53bdbdea73bcbd6076d00417055f7729965493b697b706",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d1b963252e829ca707103838b63ec471cd4f1b8ac04fd60e676e47047bda2e33",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 404298
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for pocho →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cG9jaG8