Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /oˈle/ [oˈle]
- Rhymes: -e
- Syllabification: o‧lé
Etymology 1
Unknown. Often supposed to be from Arabic الله (allāh, “God!”), used e.g. to express surprise, excitement, etc., and/or from related وَاللهِ (wa-llāhi, “by God!”), used as an oath or strong agreement.
The Spanish Arabist Federico Corriente, however, described this derivation as "falsos arabismos" (false Arabism) in his work Diccionario de Arabismos y Voces Afines en Iberorromance.[2][3]
Interjection
olé
- an expression of encouragement and approval
Usage notes
- The interjection was commonly shouted in bullfighting every time the matador managed to avoid being hit by the bull. The sense was later brought to sports, mainly soccer, and is shouted when a player manages to dribble their opponent.
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
References
Kaye, Alan S. (2005) “Two Alleged Arabic Etymologies”, in Journal of Near Eastern Studies, volume 64, number 2, →DOI, pages 109–111
Corriente, Federico (1999) Diccionario de Arabismos y Voces Afines en Iberorromance (Dictionary of Arabisms and Related Words in Ibero-Romance), Gredo, pages 485–596