English word origin

Etymology of tonto

Borrowed from Spanish tonto (“stupid, foolish; idiot, fool”), of uncertain etymology. Originally in US use but now chiefly British. Cf. earlier Tonto, with which it is sometimes confused.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

adj

Synonym of crazy.

noun

Synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid.

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

Borrowed from Spanish tonto (“stupid, foolish; idiot, fool”), of uncertain etymology. Originally in US use but now chiefly British. Cf. earlier Tonto, with which it is sometimes confused.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentiontontoes · stupid, foolish; idiot, fool

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",
        "3": "tonto",
        "t": "stupid, foolish; idiot, fool"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Spanish tonto (“stupid, foolish; idiot, fool”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tonto",
      "tonto#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "stupid",
      "stupid"
    ],
    [
      "foolish",
      "foolish"
    ],
    [
      "idiot",
      "idiot"
    ],
    [
      "fool",
      "fool"
    ],
    [
      "Tonto",
      "Tonto#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of crazy."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "offensive",
        "possibly",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "264f2b99311287e15999add60f19b1ab5e993cedff16129ba1e41b515192995b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "dbcb761aa52e01ee734a69a4e500713c1321b1aff76dcfbdb9191d13befdfdb1",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 215363
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of idiot: someone who is foolish or stupid."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "41633694cef243e81f1c091cfa0f3f42411c967e78e07fde9811e0d36bda8f82",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b8e925e73976404b9f062a5d383443f00bd76cb39bbd1ff683773d3aa9e8e324",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 215362
    }
  ],
  "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 tonto →

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-dG9udG8