https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/general-conversation-greetings-letters/5384926-fotro.html
Nov 11, 2013 15:54
10 yrs ago
Spanish term

Fotro

Spanish to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Does this name has any meaning in English?
Thanks in advance!
Proposed translations (English)
3 "El Fotro"

Discussion

Charles Davis Nov 11, 2013:
Florencio Nice one ;)
Florencio Alonso Nov 11, 2013:
Nario Charles, though it could certainly be "ordinario", you'd probably better play it safe with your mother-in-law and go for "extraordinario" ;-)
Charles Davis Nov 11, 2013:
My mother-in-law's family, from a village in another part of Spain, also has a meaningless nickname, "el Nario"; her father and her brother were called that. I sometimes wonder whether it's from "el ordinario", but nobody knows (not even the local historians).
Charles Davis Nov 11, 2013:
Hi Gad I don't know whether the word actually has a meaning; if it has I can't find it. But it does seem to be a genuine "mote" in Híjar. Here's someone in a blog on Híjar and its history who signs himself "Manuel Pastor Turón, “ El Manolico El Fotro “"
http://archivoeshijar.blogspot.com.es/

As I expect you know, these local "motes" are often quite old and are passed down from father to son. They are sometimes literally meaningless, though probably derived ultimately from some local word. Híjar, in the far north of Teruel province, is not Aragonese- or Catalan-speaking nowadays, but maybe "fotro" has its roots in one of these languages in the distant past. Or maybe it's a corruption of "potro"! Probably nobody knows.
Gad Kohenov (asker) Nov 11, 2013:
It's mentioned in the link below among a few. http://valdecara.blogspot.co.il/2013/09/la-casa-del-fotro.ht...
Florencio Alonso Nov 11, 2013:
Context? I don't even think it's a word in Spanish.
Is it a name for something? Could you give more context?

Proposed translations

30 mins
Selected

"El Fotro"

It's a nickname and as such I would handle it as such and leave "El Fotro" between quotation marks.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 32 mins (2013-11-11 16:26:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

One could try to look up the origins of the "El Fotro" nickname, but even then I would still use "El Fotro" instead of trying to translate it, since it's clearly something very regional and adds to the local color of the text.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 51 mins (2013-11-11 16:45:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hey, you could also send an email to the blogs author [email protected] asking him if he knows the origin of the nickname and evaluate if it would make sense to add the explanation in a note.
Note from asker:
Probably you are right Florencio.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "The name appears in a list which has nothing to do with the blog. Thanks a lot!"