Abrazos in Spanish. A typical way to end a note
to even a reasonably casual acquaintance is "un
abrazo," or in a more exuberant mood, "un
abrazote" (a big hug). This is regardless of
gender. It's equally the rule that a greeting to
even an aquaintance (male) will begin and end
with an actual abrazo rather than a handshake.
Between sexes a version of the bizou is more
common. Basically this is the rule between people
who tutear. A first or more formal greeting will be a handshake.
I don't know if the same ruels apply in Spain. As
any latin american will tell you, Spaniards are weird.
Mark
At 11:53 AM 3/13/2007, you wrote:
>I've come across sites saying
>
>Abraços Grátis
>(free hugs)
>
>and caught myself thinking, "why pay for hugs?" No, wait ...
>
>are the portuguese and spainish phrases for "hugs" the same?
>
>On 3/13/07, Anny Ballardini <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>I think the X stands for the crossing of paths, since the X features two
>>lines crossed in their exact center, a perfect X stands for two SO's
>>(significant others) as some might like to define a couple, or a couple
>>tout-court.
>>*Abraços - *as Mark Weiss will let you know better than me, is the Spanish
>>term for Hugs. You will have to add the Cedille or cedilla (Spanish) to the
>>"c" to pronounce it properly, with an "s" sound.
>>
>>On 3/13/07, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >
>> > a longlost friend has just emailed me, signing off:
>> >
>> > Warm abracos
>> >
>> > ?? First time this word has come my way. Is it much used?
>> >
>> > Wikipedia says
>> >
>> > Abracos means hugs and kisses:
>> >
>> > 'Hugs and Kisses is a term for a sequence of the letters X and O, e.g.
>> > XOXO,
>> > typically used to express affection or good friendship at the end of a
>> > written
>> > letter or email.
>> > It is debatable which letter represents which act. Some interpret X as the
>> > crossed arms of a hug and O as the puckered lips of a kiss. However, the
>> > interpretation assumed in the following, in which X represents the four
>> > lips of
>> > a kiss and O the four arms of a hug, is more common. For example the
>> > Oxford
>> > English Dictionary states that X is "used to represent a kiss, esp. in the
>> > subscription to a letter." [1]
>> > But in more conventional modern language, the X is most often referred to
>> > as a
>> > Hug denoted by the way it resembles the form a hug when viewing the
>> > hugger. One
>> > also notices the similar resemblance of puckered lips to the O which
>> > denotes a
>> > kiss.
>> > Additionally, there is a more simple interpretation, based on the
>> > pronunciation
>> > of the letters X (sounds like 'kiss') and O (sounds like 'hold', as in 'I
>> > hold
>> > you').
>> > The use of XOXO goes back to the use of an X or cross, which was
>> > considered as
>> > good as a sworn oath in times before most people could write and therefore
>> > used
>> > the X in the same way a signature is used today — a mark of one's word.
>> > An X at the end of a letter or document was often kissed as a seal of
>> > honesty,
>> > in much the same way one would kiss a Bible or kiss the fingers after
>> > making the
>> > sign of the Christian cross, thus the X came to represent a kiss in modern
>> > times.
>> > The origins of the O as a hug are not generally known, although it is
>> > speculated
>> > that it may represent the arms wrapped around someone being hugged.
>> > Another
>> > thought is that it came from Jewish immigrants who would sign with an O
>> > instead
>> > of an X because they did not wish to mark their word with the Christian
>> > cross
>> > the X represented.'
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > This email was sent from Netspace Webmail: http://www.netspace.net.au
>> >
>
>
>--
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