paisano

Pal from home

Paisano is a friendly term for a fellow countryman or someone from the same region, especially among Italians and Spanish speakers.

In the American Southwest, it often means a friend or buddy with shared cultural roots: Hey paisano, come have a drink.

The word carries warmth and ethnic solidarity.

In some regions, paisano also refers to the roadrunner bird.

compatriot

countryman

Person from same nation

countrywomanFemale from same nation
fellowMan or companion
comradeFellow member, shared cause

national · citizen · native · kin · brethren · ally · associate · peer · supporter · sympathizer

rustic

peasant

Low-status agricultural laborer

farmerOne who cultivates land
campesinoSpanish-speaking rural farmer
villagerRural community inhabitant

countryman · rural · pastoral · agrarian · provincial · farmhand · laborer · fieldworker · plowman · tiller

familiar

compadre

Intimate male companion

amigoSpanish for friend
buddyInformal term for companion
palClose trusted companion

chum · friend · neighbor · acquaintance · confidant · associate · partner · crony · sidekick · hermano

folk

tradition

Custom passed through generations

heritageInherited cultural legacy
customsTraditional practices or import taxes
folkloreInherited cultural narratives

ancestry · ethnography · folkways · rituals · dialect · ballad · legend · craftsmanship · artisan · village

Categories

Italian AmericansItalian Americans, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Frank Sinatra, Martin Scorsese
Italian DiasporaItalian Americans, Italian immigration, Italian heritage, Italian communities, Little Italy
Gauchogaucho, ponchos, mate, yerba mate, asado

Opposites

shared origin/nationality

paisanoforeigner

Non-native person

stranger · outsider · alien · immigrant · emigrant

social familiarity/kinship

paisanostranger

Person not yet known

outsider · enemy · foe · rival · adversary

rural/folk identity

paisanocity dweller

Urban area inhabitant

urbanite · cosmopolitan · aristocrat · elite · sophisticate

Family

paisan, paisanos

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G