norteño

[ nawr-teyn-yoh; Spanish nawr-te-nyoh ]

adjective

1. of or relating to northern Mexico, the border area of Mexico and the United States, the people of this region, or their dialect of Spanish.

noun

1. Also called Tex-Mex,. a lively, polkalike folk music chiefly of southern Texas and northern Mexico, usually with Spanish lyrics and played on accordion and 12-string guitar, sometimes with fiddle and saxophone.

Word History and Origins

Origin of norteño¹

First recorded in 1950–55; from Spanish (Mexico, Texas): literally, “northern(er),” equivalent to nort(e) “north” + -eño a suffix forming nouns and adjectives from placenames; Madrileño ( def ); north ( def )