pololo

Borrowed from Mapudungun püḻülu (“acting like a fly”).

• IPA^(key): /poˈlolo/ [poˈlo.lo]
• Rhymes: -olo
• Syllabification: po‧lo‧lo

pololo m (plural pololos, feminine polola, feminine plural pololas) (Chile)

1. Any of various beetles, such as Astylus trifasciatus.
   • 1915, Julio Vicuña Cifuentes, Mitos y Supersticiones Recogidos de la Tradición Oral Chilena, page 255:

     Hay que tener cuidado de que no penetre en la alcoba, especialmente noche, el insecto llamado pololo, pues gusta de introducirse en las orejas y puede llegar hasta el cerebro, produciendo entonces la muerte de la persona.

     You have to be careful that the insect called pololo does not penetrate into the bedroom, especially at night, for it likes to stick itself in the ears and can even get into the brain, thus producing the death of the person.

2. boyfriend (partner in a romantic relationship)

   Synonym: novio

• “pololo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “pololo”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010