English

Noun

barrio ‎(plural barrios)

1. (in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic) A slum on the periphery of a major city; a low to middle-class neighborhood in a lesser city.
2. (in some Spanish-speaking countries) A municipality or subdivision of a municipality.
3. (in the Phillippines) A barangay.
   • 2008, Resil B. Mojares, Beast in the Fields, Gémino H. Abad (editor), Upon Our Own Ground: Filipino short stories in English: 1956 to 1972, page 413,

     In the barrio, they talked excitedly about the wood-gatherer's discovery. There was so much pushing and quibbling over details that by the time the barrio had organized itself to set out for Salug to investigate, dusk had already fallen.

4. (informal, US) An area or neighborhood in a US city inhabited predominantly by Spanish-speakers or people of Hispanic origin.
   • 1993, Diego Vigil, The Established Gang, Scott Cummings, Daniel J. Monti (editors), Gangs: The Origins and Impact of Contemporary Youth Gangs in the United States, page 98,

     After World War II, its prospering working-class white residents moved to other, more upscale suburban developments, and by the 1950s the area had become an isolated ethnic enclave with its own barrio gang.

Classical Nahuatl

Alternative forms

• barrioh

Etymology

From Spanish barrio.

Noun

barrio

1. A district of an altepetl.

References

• Lockhart, James. (2001) Nahuatl as Written, Stanford University Press, p. 211.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈβ̞ a̠.rjo̞], [ˈba̠.rjo̞]
• See also: rabio, birria

Etymology

From Andalusian Arabic بري ‎(barri, “exterior”), referring to the outer, surrounding or less civilized or urbanized parts of a city, from classical Arabic بري ‎(“savage”). Compare Portuguese bairro.

Noun

barrio m ‎(plural barrios)

1. neighbourhood
2. (Mexico) any neighbourhood of the original or ancient part of a city (usually excluding new growths after 30s, 40s or 50s, depending on the state or city)
3. (Venezuela, Dominican Republic) slum

See also

• vecindad
• vecindario

Usage notes

In Mexico it has postal value and is obligatory (or else the colonia or fraccionamiento is), alongside the postal code.