Guapparia
They’re not that different after all – wouldn’t it be sweet if they’d just get along?…
Guappo is a term of endearment or an insult, depending on whom you ask. It’s a Neapolitan word of (possibly) Spanish origin, meaning a handsome young man and an honourable gangster. Some claim that the English racist slur “wop” comes from guappo, but others say that it all started in 19th century Spain where Italian seasonal workers were derisively called guapos (pretty boys) by the local men for some funny reason.
Interesting term! Is there any French equivalent to “guappo” and how would that sound? I was wondering about this, because of the linguistic proximity between the Latin languages.
According to Wiktionary, the Spanish “guapo” (handsome) comes from Latin “vappa”, flat wine, worthless person (Italian wiktionary just translates “vappa” to “coglione”!). Funny how the connotations switch back and forth throughout history. I didn’t manage to find any French derivatives, though.
Thanx, anyway; it´s interesting to know…by the way, the only French word I can come up with, that sounds like “vappa”, is “vapeur”, but I don´t think it´s remotely connected! Well, I dunno!