vagabundo

What it means

1. 1.

   A scoundrel — someone dishonest, unfaithful or without scruples. It says nothing whatever about being homeless, which is the sense a Spanish or Mexican reader will reach for first.

2. 2.

   Of a partner specifically, a cheat: 'ese hombre e' un vagabundo' is an accusation of infidelity, not of idleness.

Literally: vagrant, tramp

Examples with translations

• Ese vagabundo me cogió lo' cuarto' y desapareció.

  That crook took my money and vanished.

• No sea' vagabunda con esa muchacha.

  Don't treat that girl like dirt.

Where it comes from

A standard Spanish word whose Dominican sense has drifted from 'wanderer' to 'person of no moral fixity'. The shift is complete: the literal meaning is effectively unavailable in speech, and a Dominican describing an actual homeless person will say something else.

Other forms

Spellings and variants:

vagabunda