buckaroo en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ˌbʌkəˈɹuː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˌbʌkəˈɹu/ (General-American)
- (General-American) audio
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Modified from Spanish vaquero (“cowboy”), with the spelling influenced by buck (“(noun) male antelope, deer, etc.; adventurous or high-spirited young man; (verb) of a horse, etc.: to leap upward arching its back, coming down with head low and forelegs stiff, forcefully kicking its hind legs upward”). Doublet of vaquero. cognates * Early Medieval Latin vaccārius (“cowherd”) * French vacher * Late Latin baccalārius (“landless serf; cowherd (?)”) (Merovingian)
Meanings
-
(US, also, attributive) A cowboy; specifically, a working cowboy who generally does not participate in rodeos.
No thanks, cowboy. If I was to let every rodeo hand I pulled a bull off of buy me liquor, I'd have been an alcoholic long ago. Pullin' bulls off of you buckaroos is just my job. So save your money for your next entry fee, cowboy.
2005 September 2, Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana, 00:51:25 from the start, in Brokeback Mountain, Universal City, Calif.: Focus Features, →OCLC:
-
(US, broadly) One who adopts a distinctive style of cowboy attire and heritage.
Many cowboy poets have a buckaroo look and feel about them.
- (US, broadly) A style of cowboy boot with a high heel tapered at the back.
-
(US, Western, figuratively) A headstrong, reckless person; a hothead.
Don’t run in looking for a fight like some kind of buckaroo.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| buckeroo | alternative | lexicographic | |
| buckayro | alternative | lexicographic | |
| buckaroos | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (2)
fi buckaroo-saapas (style of cowboy boot with a high heel tapered at the back) · fi buckaroo (one who adopts a distinctive style of cowboy attire and heritage)