poncho

[ pon-choh ]

noun

, plural pon·chos.

1. a blanketlike cloak with a hole in the center to admit the head, originating in South America, now often worn as a raincoat.

poncho

/ ˈpɒntʃəʊ /

noun

1. a cloak of a kind originally worn in South America, made of a rectangular or circular piece of cloth, esp wool, with a hole in the middle to put the head through

Other Words From

• ponchoed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of poncho¹

First recorded in 1710–20; from Latin American Spanish: further origin uncertain; perhaps from Araucanian pontho “woolen fabric”; perhaps from Old Spanish poncho “a mantle or cloak”; perhaps a back formation from ponchón “lazy, sluggish”; perhaps an alteration of unrecorded pochón, an augmentative of pocho “pale, faded,” and probably akin to pachón “phlegmatic, sluggish”

Word History and Origins

Origin of poncho¹

C18: from American Spanish, from Araucanian pantho woollen material

Example Sentences

People lined the streets waving Dodgers flags bought from vendors, matching the Dodgers gear they all wore: shirts and ponchos.

From Los Angeles Times

A pensioner, who flew in from Norway that morning, is doing the same in a blue pound-shop poncho.

From BBC

“When we first came here, in ’64, I was dressed up in a poncho with a holster and a toy gun,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

When we first came here, in ’64, I was dressed up in a poncho with a holster and a toy gun.

From Los Angeles Times

Down at a slightly damp Reading Festival site, ponchos are very much in fashion.

From BBC