mozo

mo·zo  (mz)

n. pl. mo·zos Southwestern U.S.

1. A man who helps with a pack train or serves as a porter.

2. An assistant.

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[Spanish, boy, servant, mozo, from Old Spanish moço.]

Regional Note: In the world of pack trains and cattle roundups, a mozo provides a useful pair of extra hands. Back home on the ranch, the mozo helps with odd jobs, especially heavy work around the house. In the Southwestern United States mozo has taken on a general sense of "assistant," even in areas not related to ranching: "An enterprising deputy of the opposition Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN) called a quorum count, only to find that . . . many of the reclining figures occasionally raising their hands were mozos (attendants)" (Latin America). In fact, to call an assistant a mozo is essentially to call him a "boy," for mozo is Spanish for "young man." Even though a mozo may not be a boy in years, the word is not considered disparaging. In other languages porters or guides are commonly referred to as "boys"for example, gillie, from Scottish Gaelic gille, means "boy."