gandul 'lazy'

[Eduard Selleslagh]

-----Original Message-----
From: Max W Wheeler <maxw at cogs.susx.ac.uk>
Date: Thursday, May 20, 1999 7:25 AM

>On Mon, 17 May 1999, Eduard Selleslagh wrote:

>> According to my Spanish-Dutch dictionary (Van Goor's Handwoordenboek, 4th
>> ed.) 'Gandul' has two meanings: 1. (familiar) lazy, etc., 2. soldier of an
>> old Moorish army corps in Africa and Granada (no etymology given).  I wonder
>> if 1. stems from 2. The meaning 'pigeon pea' is not mentioned.

>> 'Gandula' is quoted as regular Spanish for deck-chair vel sim.

>Curiously, then, Sp. <gandula> 'deck chair' is not in DRAE 1992, nor in
>Moliner's Diccionario de uso del español, nor in the online Diccionario
>Anaya, which does have:

>gandul, -a
>I. Del ár. gandur = fatuo.
>      1. (adjetivo, -a, femenino, sustantivo masculino). Vago.
>      2. (adjetivo, -a, femenino, sustantivo masculino). Bribón.
>      3. (sustantivo masculino). Individuo de una tribu de indios mejicanos.

>      FAM. Gandulear, gandulería, gandulitis.
>      SIN. 1. Holgazán, indolente, perezoso, poltrón. 2. Pícaro, tunante.
>      ANT. 1. Trabajador.

>Max

[Ed Selleslagh]

I also had a look in my 'Sopena' (Nuevo Diccionario Enciclopédico Ilustrado,
Editorial Sopena Argentina, 4th ed. 1965, which I bought years ago, in Lima,
Perú - my wife is Peruvian-). It says:

gandul, -a (ár. gandur, valentón)
adj. fam. Tunante, vagabundo, haragán (Úsase también como substantivo)

and nothing else. 'Valentón' is defined as:

valentón, -na
adj. Altanero o que se jacta de valiente o guapo. (Úsase también como
substantivo).

Still no trace of 'pigeon pea'. BTW, where do they eat arroz con gandules?
Nobody in the family or their acquaintances seem to have heard of it (Spain,
Perú, Venezuela, Cuba...).

Ed.