Dictionary

abuela en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ɑˈbweɪlə/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwh₂os Latin avus Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ ~ *-yeh₂ Latin avia Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulus Latin -ola Late Latin aviola Spanish abuelabor. English abuela Borrowed from Spanish abuela.

Meanings

1. A Hispanic grandmother.
   • On the east side of San Jose, Calif., there is an abuela who seems to have more grandchildren than she can count. 2024 April 3, Frank Rojas, “‘Carefluencers’ Are Helping Older Loved Ones, and Posting About It”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2024:
   • I, an abuela-aged woman of Northern European ancestry, have lived within 50 miles of the Mexican border most of my life. Mexican culture is part of my life as much as any of my DNA cultures, if not more, and I love it all. 2022 February 17, Diane Scholfield, “Letters to the Editor: Is ‘gringo’ offensive? That’s up to the person being called one”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Feb 2022:
   • 8 a.m. Wake up early for breakfast at an abuela’s house 2022 June 22, Mia Moretti, as told to Margaret Rhodes, “Mia Moretti’s Weekend of Wine and Baja Clams in Valle de Guadalupe”, in The Strategist, New York, N.Y.: New York Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Jun 2022:
   • I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas. 2025 November 5, Zohran Mamdani, “The Full Transcript of Zohran Mamdani’s Victory Speech”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Nov 2025:
   • Together, the abuelas wrote pleading letters to international organizations and the pope, and posed as baby supply saleswomen and housekeepers to more closely surveil children they thought might be their relations. 2025 July 4, Haley Cohen Gilliland, “How a Group of Grandmothers Revealed the Painful Truth About Argentina’s Past”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2025:
   • [L]ook no further than this week’s surreal exchange between Sen. Josh Hawley and a Berkeley law professor insisting that men can and do get pregnant. Yes, that happened, in a Senate hearing. You say that to an abuela, and the most likely response will be “que?” followed by a quick “adios!” 2022 July 14, Mike Gonzalez, “Democrats are in denial about why they are losing Hispanic voters”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 14 Jul 2022:

Forms

Coordinates

abuelo