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Glite Dictionary
chiclero

chiclero

1 9.9
A person in Central America who climbs trees to collect natural gum used to make chewing gum
  • noun
  • /tʃɪˈklɛroʊ/
  • Archaic
: chiclero

Examples

  • "You think my wife and the professor ran into these chicleros?"

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The other chicleros gave chase.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • I ask if these amigos are chicleros.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "I found a campfire where there were signs of many chicleros.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • In halting English, using Spanish when words escaped him, Ruiz admitted he was with a gang of chicleros who came here to steal antiquities.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The chiclero collected chicle from the trees to sell to gum manufacturers.

  • Many chicleros work in the rainforests of Central America to harvest natural gum.

  • As a chiclero, he spent his days climbing trees to gather chicle for a living.

Surface Forms

chiclero singular
chicleros plural

Morphology

chiclero = chicle (semi-transparent) = chicle + ero

Formally built from 'chicle' + Spanish agentive suffix '-ero'; the meaning 'person who collects chicle' is deducible if the learner knows 'chicle' or understands Spanish -ero, but the suffix is not productive in English.

Etymology

Chiclero comes from the Spanish word chicle, which itself comes from the native word 'chīctli' meaning 'sticky stuff', plus the Spanish ending -ero that names a person. So a chiclero is literally a 'gum collector' who climbs trees to gather chicle for chewing gum.