Zorro - Wiktionary

See also: Zorro

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Spanish zorro.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈzoɹ.ɹoʊ/, /ˈsoɹ.ɹoʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

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zorro (plural zorros)

1. A South American canid of the species Lycalopex culpaeus, visually similar to (and sometimes referred to as) a fox but more closely related to a wolf.

Synonyms

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• raposa
• South American fox

Hyponyms

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• culpeo

Derived terms

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• Azara's zorro
• colpeo zorro
• common zorro
• crab-eating zorro
• Darwin's zorro
• gray zorro
• grey zorro
• hoary zorro
• Sechuran zorro
• short-eared zorro

Basque

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Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /s̻oro/ [s̻o.ro]

• IPA(key): (most dialects) /s̻oro/ [s̻o.ro]
• IPA(key): (Biscayan) /s̺oro/ [s̺o.ro]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oro, -o
• Hyphenation: zo‧rro

Noun

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zorro inan

1. bag Synonym: poltsa

Declension

[edit] Declension of zorro (inan V-stem)

indefinite	singular	plural	proximal plural
absolutive	zorro	zorroa	zorroak	zorrook
ergative	zorrok	zorroak	zorroek	zorrook
dative	zorrori	zorroari	zorroei	zorrooi
genitive	zorroren	zorroaren	zorroen	zorroon
comitative	zorrorekin	zorroarekin	zorroekin	zorrookin
causative	zorrorengatik	zorroarengatik	zorroengatik	zorroongatik
benefactive	zorrorentzat	zorroarentzat	zorroentzat	zorroontzat
instrumental	zorroz	zorroaz	zorroez	zorrootaz
innesive	zorrotan	zorroan	zorroetan	zorrootan
locative	zorrotako	zorroko	zorroetako	zorrootako
allative	zorrotara	zorrora	zorroetara	zorrootara
terminative	zorrotaraino	zorroraino	zorroetaraino	zorrootaraino
directive	zorrotarantz	zorrorantz	zorroetarantz	zorrootarantz
destinative	zorrotarako	zorrorako	zorroetarako	zorrootarako
ablative	zorrotatik	zorrotik	zorroetatik	zorrootatik
partitive	zorrorik	—	—	—
prolative	zorrotzat	—	—	—

Derived terms

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• zakil-zorro (“loincloth”)

Descendants

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• → Spanish: zurrón

Galician

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Etymology

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Unknown. Attested since the 13th century.[1] Cognate with Spanish zorro.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈθoro/ [ˈθo.rʊ]

• IPA(key): (standard) /ˈθoro/ [ˈθo.rʊ]
• IPA(key): (seseo) /ˈsoro/ [ˈso.rʊ]

• Rhymes: -oro
• Hyphenation: zo‧rro

Adjective

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zorro (feminine zorra, masculine plural zorros, feminine plural zorras)

1. slow Synonym: lento
2. humid Synonym: lento

Noun

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zorro m (plural zorros)

1. bastard son Synonym: bastardo
2. sled, sledge used for moving loads

References

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• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “zorro”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “zorro”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “zorro”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “zorro”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “zorro”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

1. ^ Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1983–1991), “zorra”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎[1] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Spanish

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Etymology

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First attested in the 15th century, chiefly in the feminine form zorra. Of unclear origin:

• perhaps from Paleo-Hispanic. If so, it may be related to Spanish perro,
• perhaps from Middle French sor (“yellowish-brown, reddish-brown, sorrel”), or
• perhaps from Basque azeri (“fox”).
• A fourth suggestion, that the term derives from a verb *zorrar from onomatopoeia, is considered "far from convincing" and "unprovable".[1]

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈθoro/ [ˈθo.ro] (Spain, Equatorial Guinea)
• IPA(key): /ˈsoro/ [ˈso.ro] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oro
• Syllabification: zo‧rro

Noun

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zorro m (plural zorros, feminine zorra, feminine plural zorras)

1. fox (carnivore) Synonyms: zorra, raposo
2. (Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatán) opossum Synonyms: zarigüeya, (Mexico) tlacuache
3. skunk Synonyms: zorrillo, zorrino, mofeta
4. (by extension, figuratively) fox (sly or cunning person)
5. (Argentina) jack (device used to raise and temporarily support a heavy object)
6. (by extension, figuratively) beacon

Derived terms

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• estar hecho unos zorros
• tiburón zorro
• zorrear
• zorro cangrejero
• zorro cola pelada
• zorro coleto
• zorro de agua
• zorro de balsa
• zorro de Yucatán
• zorro espín
• zorro gris
• zorro hediondo
• zorro isleño
• zorro patagónico
• zorro plateado

Adjective

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zorro (feminine zorra, masculine plural zorros, feminine plural zorras)

1. (figurative) clever, crafty, sly

Derived terms

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• a lo zorro
• no tener ni zorra idea

References

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1. ^ 2012, A History of the Spanish Lexicon: A Linguistic Perspective →ISBN, page 39: "The initial attestations of Sp. zorro/zorra 'fox' are from the mid fifteenth century and appear almost exclusively in the feminine, employed in cancionero poetry, with reference to idle, immoral women (cf. mod. zorra 'prostitute'). […] DCECH may well be right in stating that zorro/zorra secondarily became a euphemistic designation for the dreaded fox (cf. raposo so used). […] The late initial documentation of zorro leads to the question [of] whether this word goes back to early Roman Spain or whether it is a later borrowing from Basque, a derivation, as noted above, challenged by Trask (1997: 421). Far from convincing is the unprovable hypothesis in DCECH that zorro goes back to a verb zorrar (whose authenticity I have been unable to verify), allegedly of onomatopoeic origin."

Further reading

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• “zorro”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Schoenhals, Louise C. (1988), A Spanish - English Glossary of Mexican Flora and Fauna‎[2], Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 599