Bandido or bandito?

texas_girl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
179
Reaction score
5
Location
Central
Which is the correct spelling, bandido or bandito? I've seen both... so I'm not exactly sure which one to use. Western Words says it's bandido... I'm so confused right now! Help!
 

thothguard51

A Gentleman of a refined age...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
9,316
Reaction score
1,065
Age
74
Location
Out side the beltway...
I think bandidio is a bandit who belongs to a gang while bandito is a bandit with no gang affiliation. I could be wrong, but that is how I have seen it used, or maybe I have it backwards?

Whatever you use, be consistent in how you use it...
 

ElisabethF

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
5
Location
United States
Putting 'bandit' in Google's translator and translating to Spanish gets 'bandido.' Put in 'bandito' with the T and it detects the language as Italian.

I wouldn't rely solely on that, though, especially if it's a grammatical issue; online translators aren't the best in that department. :) You'd probably want to find a good source for Spanish language questions, or someone who speaks it.
 

texas_girl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
179
Reaction score
5
Location
Central
Thanks you both for the feedback! What's funny is that I actually speak a little Spanish, but we never learned the word for bandit!
 

Kaiser-Kun

!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Messages
7,172
Reaction score
2,483
Age
41
Location
Mexico
It's Bandido in spanish. Bandito was probably used in Spaghetti Westerns.
 

Puma

Retired and loving it!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
7,340
Reaction score
1,540
Location
Central Ohio
But ... ito (or ita) is the diminutive form in Spanish meaning little. So Bandito is not impossible (and my Spanish dictionary is the only one that's not here at my desk - grrr.) Puma
 

Kaiser-Kun

!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 12, 2009
Messages
7,172
Reaction score
2,483
Age
41
Location
Mexico
I think if it were a diminutive, it'd be "Bandidito". Bandito sounds quite off. Trust me, I've got some experience in spanish. xD
 

Bartholomew

Comic guy
Kind Benefactor
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
8,507
Reaction score
1,957
Location
Kansas! Again.
Which is the correct spelling, bandido or bandito? I've seen both... so I'm not exactly sure which one to use. Western Words says it's bandido... I'm so confused right now! Help!

Bandido. The -ito/a ending is a way to make something diminutive, as others have said, and there are rules for applying it to a word (simple rules, but rules none-the-less.) As another poster said, to make a diminuative bandit, you'd have the word "bandidito." The same rule applies for amigo. Amigo, friend; amigito, little friend.

May I ask the context? I never really hear anyone use the word bandido.
 
Last edited:

frimble3

Heckuva good sport
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
15,397
Reaction score
14,665
Location
west coast, canada
I know it's current use, as the name of a motorcycle gang. Originally from Texas, I believe, with a lot of notoriety in eastern Canada.
 

Jonah Hex

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
76
Reaction score
6
Location
Italy
Cowboy Talk, vocabulario Vaquero Cowboy by Robert N. Smead says this:

TntyN.jpg


The Western Lore and Language : A Dictionary for Enthusiasts of the American West by Thomas L. Clark says this:

fL6en.jpg


I think both terms are correct :)
 

Puma

Retired and loving it!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
7,340
Reaction score
1,540
Location
Central Ohio
Jonah - Did you come up with Cowboy Talk as a Google book search result? And, if so, how did you manage to copy it? I found the same thing last night, but I have never been able to directly copy from a Google book - I always have to copy anything pertinent long-hand. I'd love to know how you did it. Puma
 

ElisabethF

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Messages
160
Reaction score
5
Location
United States
Puma, have you tried taking screenshots from Google Books? That gets you an image, so you still can't copy and paste the text, but it might be helpful for quick reference.
 

Jonah Hex

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
76
Reaction score
6
Location
Italy
Jonah - Did you come up with Cowboy Talk as a Google book search result? And, if so, how did you manage to copy it? I found the same thing last night, but I have never been able to directly copy from a Google book - I always have to copy anything pertinent long-hand. I'd love to know how you did it. Puma
Hi Puma, to take a copy from Google Books the only thing to do is print it on a image file (.jpg) how I did. Open the Google Books page you prefer than press the button "Stamp" on your keyboard. Make a "copy and paste" on an empty Photoshop or Paint file, cut the section you want and save it as a jpg (or png, or gif) file.

Hi!
 

Puma

Retired and loving it!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
7,340
Reaction score
1,540
Location
Central Ohio
Thank you, Elizabeth and Jonah. You're both beyond me, but I suspect my daughter can help me with a screenshot. Jonah, I don't have any key on my keyboard for stamp - could it be called anything else?

I do a lot of research and sometimes there are things in Google books I'd like to be able to refer to later - so being able to get a copy somehow would be very helpful to me. So now that I have two options to work on figuring out, I'll play with it. Thank you. Puma
 

Jonah Hex

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
76
Reaction score
6
Location
Italy
Oh, excuse me, Puma. Try the key "Print Screen" or "Prt Sc" or "Print". Maybe "Stamp" is only for "italian" keyboards.

Excuse me again.
 
Last edited:

jdm

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
211
Reaction score
23
Does anyone remember the Frito Bandito before political correctness decided it was a racist stereotype?
 

J'Dubee

I make tall stories short
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 5, 2011
Messages
283
Reaction score
44
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
Website
www.jdubee.com


(Think: Cielito Lindo)

"Ay, ay, ay, ay! I am dee Frito Bandito. I like Frito's Corn Chips. I love them, I do. I want Frito's corn chips. I'll take them, from you.

Ay, ay, ay, ay, oh, I am the Frito Bandito. Give me Frito Corn chips and I'll be your friend. The Frito Bandito you must not offend."

I recall the bandido saying he was under investigation by the FBI (Frito Bureau of Investigation)
 

texas_girl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
179
Reaction score
5
Location
Central
I know it's current use, as the name of a motorcycle gang. Originally from Texas, I believe, with a lot of notoriety in eastern Canada.

I've actually seen the patches, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't an anglicized version of the word.

Thank you so much for your replies everybody!
 

Jonah Hex

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
76
Reaction score
6
Location
Italy
Excuse me, texas_girl, who say the word or to whom is it referring? I think this: if the word is referring to someone of Mexican origins, you will can use the word "bandido" (or "desperado"); otherwise, you will can use the word "outlaw". :)
 

texas_girl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
179
Reaction score
5
Location
Central
It's definitely referring to a Mexican bandit. Another word I've been using is Comanchero since they used to trade with the Comanche.
 

texas_girl

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
179
Reaction score
5
Location
Central
But ... ito (or ita) is the diminutive form in Spanish meaning little. So Bandito is not impossible (and my Spanish dictionary is the only one that's not here at my desk - grrr.) Puma

That's what I was thinking too, Puma! I finally found my Spanish dictionary and it IS bandido, so that's the one I'm going to use for my book. Thanks y'all!
 

Cav Guy

Living in the backstory
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 14, 2006
Messages
809
Reaction score
146
Location
Montana - About a century too late
Coming in late, but in period newspapers and the like (say circa 1850 through 1880) they tended to use the term banditti when referring to some outlaws (taken, I suspect, from the Italian). At that point Anglicized spanish terms weren't especially common. Over time that changed, obviously.

And as a footnote, a Comanchero is something different. They were usually of New Mexican origin (although obviously of Mexican background). They ran a traffic of weapons, ammunition and whiskey in one direction and stolen livestock and captives in the other, usually through the Staked Plains. While some of them may have been bandits as well, the two are not automatically the same thing.