gandul 'lazy'

[Eduard Selleslagh]

-----Original Message-----
From: Max W Wheeler <maxw at cogs.susx.ac.uk>
Date: Sunday, May 16, 1999 3:31 AM

[ moderator snip ]

><Gandul> doesn't seem to be slang in contemporary European Spanish, nor
>does it seem to have the meaning `pigeon pea' there. García de Diego
>says it's from Arabic <gandur> `majo' (I haven't got Corominas DCEH
>handy).

>BTW <gandula> is `deck-chair' in Catalan; a nice metonymy.

>Max

[Ed Selleslagh]

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.

Ed.