"Tonto" meaning in English

See Tonto in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proper name

Etymology: From Spanish tonto (“fool, idiot”), the Spanish name for the tribe, a calque of Western Apache kounʼnde (“wild rough people”). The fictional character (described as Comanche or Potawatomi) either from Potawatomi or named after Tonto Basin, Arizona. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|es|tonto||fool, idiot}} Spanish tonto (“fool, idiot”), {{cal|en|apw|kounʼnde||wild rough people|nocap=1}} calque of Western Apache kounʼnde (“wild rough people”), {{der|en|pot|-}} Potawatomi Head templates: {{en-proper noun}} Tonto
  1. (fiction) The Native American sidekick of the Lone Ranger. Categories (topical): Fiction, Ethnonyms
    Sense id: en-Tonto-en-name-zRVd0Kkb Disambiguation of Ethnonyms: 36 25 6 33 Categories (other): Terms with Chiricahua translations, Terms with Navajo translations Disambiguation of Terms with Chiricahua translations: 36 43 2 19 Disambiguation of Terms with Navajo translations: 43 21 2 34 Topics: fiction, literature, media, publishing
  2. A member of the Tonto Apaches. Categories (topical): Ethnonyms Translations (Tonto Apache): Dilzhę́’é (Apachean), Dilzhe'e (Apachean), Dilzhe’eh Apache (Apachean), Bíniʼ Ádinii (Chiricahua), Dilzhíʼí dineʼé (Navajo)
    Sense id: en-Tonto-en-name-20YkSzaq Disambiguation of Ethnonyms: 36 25 6 33 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Chiricahua translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 20 63 2 14 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 23 61 3 13 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 28 60 2 11 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 19 71 1 8 Disambiguation of Terms with Chiricahua translations: 36 43 2 19 Disambiguation of 'Tonto Apache': 36 64

Noun

Forms: Tontos [plural]
Etymology: From Spanish tonto (“fool, idiot”), the Spanish name for the tribe, a calque of Western Apache kounʼnde (“wild rough people”). The fictional character (described as Comanche or Potawatomi) either from Potawatomi or named after Tonto Basin, Arizona. Etymology templates: {{bor|en|es|tonto||fool, idiot}} Spanish tonto (“fool, idiot”), {{cal|en|apw|kounʼnde||wild rough people|nocap=1}} calque of Western Apache kounʼnde (“wild rough people”), {{der|en|pot|-}} Potawatomi Head templates: {{en-noun}} Tonto (plural Tontos)
  1. A sidekick.
    Sense id: en-Tonto-en-noun-SM1WuLQO
  2. A Native American who accepts a subservient position to a white person. Categories (topical): Ethnonyms
    Sense id: en-Tonto-en-noun-VMk8G~yH Disambiguation of Ethnonyms: 36 25 6 33 Categories (other): Terms with Chiricahua translations Disambiguation of Terms with Chiricahua translations: 36 43 2 19

Inflected forms

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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A member of the Tonto Apaches."
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        {
          "_dis1": "36 64",
          "lang": "Apachean",
          "sense": "Tonto Apache",
          "word": "Dilzhę́’é"
        },
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          "_dis1": "36 64",
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          "sense": "Tonto Apache",
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  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Tonto Basin, Arizona"
  ],
  "word": "Tonto"
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          "ref": "2004, Lee Godden, ZenWise Selling: Mindful Methods to Improve Your Sales, page 141:",
          "text": "Salespeople may see themselves as Lone Rangers, not in need of any help, save for the occasional advice from a Tonto (or technical sales specialist).",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Douglas Snauffer, Crime television, page 130:",
          "text": "Hardcastle realized he couldn't go it alone and would need a “Tonto.” He found his trusty sidekick in “Skid” Mark McCormack",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Stephen Arterburn with Jack Felton, More Jesus, Less Religion: Moving from Rules to Relationship, page 133:",
          "text": "So do you have a Tonto in your life? If not, find one and make that person your trusted companion.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
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        {
          "ref": "1982, Iron Eyes Cody with Collin Perry, Iron Eyes, my life as a Hollywood Indian:",
          "text": "They called Indians like him — that is, any Indian who tried to make it by working within the system — a \"Tonto.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, Ellenor Ranghild Merriken, Looking for country: a Norwegian immigrant's Alberta memoir, page 21:",
          "text": "Once more, Beyond the Survey takes up the topic, introducing a character Mowees (obviously an \"Indianificarion\" of the common Metis name Moise) who unfortunately never rises above the level of a Tonto figure.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Jim Sleeper, Liberal racism, page 130:",
          "text": "Law Schools, a critical race theorist likened Kennedy to a Tonto figure, the fictional Indian whose loyalty to the Lone Ranger set him apart from, if not against, his tribe.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Benjamin DeMott with Arthur Asa Berger, Supergrow: essays and reports on imagination in America, page 11:",
          "text": "An example: The Black Panther Chairman abuses the black Supreme Court Justice (the latter having just denied a Cleaver plea) as an \"Uncle Tom, a bootlicker, a nigger pig, a Tonto, and a punk.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Lisa Alther, Kinfolks: falling off the family tree, page 20:",
          "text": "But clearly she's a Two Hearts, not a Tonto.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Jabari Asim, The N word: who can say it, who shouldn't, and why, page 185:",
          "text": "In the best circumstances, he was devastatingly witty and slyly subversive; in the worst, he was merely a Tonto with an Afro.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A Native American who accepts a subservient position to a white person."
      ],
      "id": "en-Tonto-en-noun-VMk8G~yH"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Tonto Basin, Arizona"
  ],
  "word": "Tonto"
}
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      "lang": "Apachean",
      "sense": "Tonto Apache",
      "word": "Dilzhę́’é"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Apachean",
      "sense": "Tonto Apache",
      "word": "Dilzhe'e"
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      "sense": "Tonto Apache",
      "word": "Dilzhe’eh Apache"
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      "sense": "Tonto Apache",
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    "Tonto Basin, Arizona"
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          "ref": "2004, Lee Godden, ZenWise Selling: Mindful Methods to Improve Your Sales, page 141:",
          "text": "Salespeople may see themselves as Lone Rangers, not in need of any help, save for the occasional advice from a Tonto (or technical sales specialist).",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Douglas Snauffer, Crime television, page 130:",
          "text": "Hardcastle realized he couldn't go it alone and would need a “Tonto.” He found his trusty sidekick in “Skid” Mark McCormack",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Stephen Arterburn with Jack Felton, More Jesus, Less Religion: Moving from Rules to Relationship, page 133:",
          "text": "So do you have a Tonto in your life? If not, find one and make that person your trusted companion.",
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          "text": "They called Indians like him — that is, any Indian who tried to make it by working within the system — a \"Tonto.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, Ellenor Ranghild Merriken, Looking for country: a Norwegian immigrant's Alberta memoir, page 21:",
          "text": "Once more, Beyond the Survey takes up the topic, introducing a character Mowees (obviously an \"Indianificarion\" of the common Metis name Moise) who unfortunately never rises above the level of a Tonto figure.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Jim Sleeper, Liberal racism, page 130:",
          "text": "Law Schools, a critical race theorist likened Kennedy to a Tonto figure, the fictional Indian whose loyalty to the Lone Ranger set him apart from, if not against, his tribe.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Benjamin DeMott with Arthur Asa Berger, Supergrow: essays and reports on imagination in America, page 11:",
          "text": "An example: The Black Panther Chairman abuses the black Supreme Court Justice (the latter having just denied a Cleaver plea) as an \"Uncle Tom, a bootlicker, a nigger pig, a Tonto, and a punk.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Lisa Alther, Kinfolks: falling off the family tree, page 20:",
          "text": "But clearly she's a Two Hearts, not a Tonto.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Jabari Asim, The N word: who can say it, who shouldn't, and why, page 185:",
          "text": "In the best circumstances, he was devastatingly witty and slyly subversive; in the worst, he was merely a Tonto with an Afro.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A Native American who accepts a subservient position to a white person."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Tonto Basin, Arizona"
  ],
  "word": "Tonto"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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