pollo

See also: pöllö

Italian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin pullus, from Proto-Indo-European *polH- (“animal young”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpol.lo/

• Audio (il pollo):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ollo
• Hyphenation: pól‧lo

Noun

pollo m (plural polli)

1. (animals) chicken
2. (meats) chicken

Derived terms

• pollaio
• pollo delle pampas
• pollo sultano

Related terms

• pollare
• pollastra
• pollino
• pulcino
• pullulare

Noun

pollo m (plural polli, feminine polla) (slang)

1. sucker, chump, dupe or patsy
2. pushover or weakling

Further reading

• “pollo”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Spanish

pollo (1)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin pullus, from Proto-Indo-European *polH- (“animal young”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoʝo/ [ˈpo.ʝo]

• IPA^(key): /ˈpoʝo/ [ˈpo.ʝo] (Spain, most of Latin America, Equatorial Guinea)
• IPA^(key): /ˈpoʎo/ [ˈpo.ʎo] (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• IPA^(key): /ˈpoʃo/ [ˈpo.ʃo] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /ˈpoʒo/ [ˈpo.ʒo] (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /ˈpojo/ [ˈpo.jo] (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Audio (Peru):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -oʝo

• Rhymes: -oʝo (Spain, most of Latin America, Equatorial Guinea)
• Rhymes: -oʎo (rustic northern Spain, northern and central Andes Mountains (except central Ecuador), Bolivia, Paraguay, northeastern Argentina, Philippines)
• Rhymes: -oʃo (Buenos Aires and environs)
• Rhymes: -oʒo (central Ecuador, Santiago del Estero and environs, elsewhere in Pampas and southern Argentina, Uruguay)
• Rhymes: -ojo (northern Mexico, Yucatán, Central America (except Panama))

• Syllabification: po‧llo

Noun

pollo m (plural pollos)

1. chicken (meat)

   pollo frito ― fried chicken

2. young chicken (specially a male, or one of unspecified gender)
3. (colloquial) fuss, scene

   Synonyms: lío, escándalo

   montar un pollo ― to make a fuss

4. (colloquial, gay slang) twink (a young, attractive, slim man)

   Antonym: oso

Adjective

pollo (feminine polla, masculine plural pollos, feminine plural pollas)

1. (Chile, slang) inexperienced

   Synonym: inexperto

Hyponyms

• (animal): gallina
• (animal): gallo
• (meat): pollo a la naranja (“orange chicken”)
• (meat): pollo a la parrilla (“grilled chicken”)
• (meat): pollo agridulce (“sweet and sour chicken”)
• (meat): pollo asado (“roast chicken, roasted chicken”)
• (meat): pollo frito (“fried chicken”)

Derived terms

• caldo de pollo
• calentura de pollo
• como si te la pica un pollo
• echarse el pollo
• hierba del pollo
• lagrimitas de pollo
• memoria de pollo
• montar el pollo
• montar un pollo
• pastel de pollo
• polla
• pollada
• pollería
• pollito
• pollito feliz
• pollo a la naranja
• polluelo
• sopa de pollo
• sudar como un pollo

Related terms

• pollero
• pollino
• pulular
• repollo

Descendants

• → Portuguese: polho

Further reading

• “pollo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026