tío

From Old Portuguese tio, tyo, from Late Latin thius, from Ancient Greek θεῖος (theîos).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtiʊ/

tío m (plural tíos, feminine tía, feminine plural tías)

1. uncle

   O meu tío é o irmán da miña nai ou do meu pai.

   My uncle is my mother’s or father’s brother.

   Synonym: titío

2. (colloquial) Unknown male person, dude, guy.

   E ese tío gritoume.

   And that guy yelled at me.

3. mister (title conferred on an adult male)

   Synonym: señor

• (with regard to gender): tía
• (with regard to ancestry): sobriño, sobriña

• tío avó
• tío carnal

• “tío” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.
• “tío” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.

From Old Spanish tio, from Late Latin thius, from Ancient Greek θεῖος (theîos). Compare Italian zio, Portuguese tio, Sardinian tiu.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtio/ [ˈt̪i.o]

• Audio (Colombia)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -io
• Syllabification: tí‧o

tío m (plural tíos, feminine tía, feminine plural tías)

1. uncle (the brother, brother-in-law, or male cousin or cousin-in-law of either parent)

   Coordinate terms: sobrino, sobrina

   Mi tío es el hermano o primo de mi madre o de mi padre.

   My uncle is my mother’s or father’s brother or male cousin.

2. (colloquial, Spain) unknown or any male person, dude, guy

   Synonyms: tipo, (Chile) gallo; see also Thesaurus:tío

   Y ese tío me gritó. ― And that guy yelled at me.

3. (colloquial, Spain) friend, mate, pal, man, bro

   Synonym: (Mexico) cuate

   Tío, ¿me puedes ayudar por un momento?

   Can you help me for a moment, mate?

4. mister (title conferred on an adult male)

   Synonym: señor

The noun tío is like most Spanish nouns with a human referent. The masculine forms are used when the referent is known to be male, a group of males, a group of mixed or unknown gender, or an individual of unknown or unspecified gender. The feminine forms are used if the referent is known to be female or a group of females.

• → Catalan: tio

• “tío”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014