04 Nov Piropo

Piropo

This word is very intresting for its origin and meaning. It is a short saying to praise some quality of someone, especially the beauty of a woman.

Origin

Latin voice is “pyropus” and comes from the greek “pyropos”, where “pyr” is 2fire” and “ops” is “eyes” and means “fire in the eyes”. Earlier was a variety of garnet, a red mineral that authors like Carlderón and Quevedo used as metaphor. Nowadays it refers to the moment when affection is expressed towards people. When someone says to you for example:

“I would ride my bike up to heaven and down without brakes for you”

this is called a piropo.

For example: Ana se ruborizó por los piropos de su compañero.

Ana blushed for her partner’s compliments.

Synonyms

Some synonyms could be:

• galantería (gallantry)
• elogio (compliment).

If you want to know more vocabulary, visit our Word of the week section, and soak up some vocabulary!