Chileno
/tʃɪˈleɪnoʊ/noun
A person or thing from Chile; the Spanish word for “Chilean.”
Did you know?The ultimate origin of Chile is disputed: proposed explanations connect it to Indigenous words associated with cold, the ends of the earth, or a regional place-name, but no theory is universally accepted.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-Colonial period
Indigenous languages
Chile / Chili
“A place-name recorded by Spanish observers; its original Indigenous meaning remains uncertain.”
16th Century
Spanish
Chile
“The name applied to the South American territory encountered and colonized by Spain.”
16th Century
Spanish
chileno
“A person or thing from Chile, formed with the Spanish adjectival suffix -eno.”
18th–19th Centuries
Spanish
chileno
“Established as the standard Spanish demonym and adjective for Chile.”
Modern English
English loanword
Chileno
“An occasional English loanword referring to a Chilean person or something associated with Chile.”