Spanish word

vello

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈbeʝo/

Meaning

  • masculine nounbody hair

Example

Él tiene mucho vello en los brazos.

He has a lot of body hair on his arms.

Illustration for vello (body hair)

More examples

Prefiero afeitarme el vello en las piernas.

I prefer to shave the hair on my legs.

Core concept

Peach-fuzz type hair on arms, face, or torso.

Common phrases

  • vello en las piernas

    hair on the legs

  • vello en los brazos

    hair on the arms

  • vello facial

    peach fuzz on the face

Similar words

pelo: Strands that grow on the head or anywhere on the body.
bigote: A narrow band of short hairs located above the upper lip.
barba: Thicker growth of hair on the lower face, especially the chin and jaw.

Definition in Spanish

Pelo fino y suave que crece en varias partes del cuerpo, más delgado que el cabello.

Word origin

Vello traces back to Latin villus 'tuft of hair' through the Romance languages and denotes soft, fine hairs on the body's surface distinct from cabello and coarse pelo.

Usage tips

  • Common collocations are vello facial and vello corporal, so pairing vello with a body part makes the intended meaning clear.

Other meanings

  • peach fuzznoun
  • fine hairnoun

Related words

  • velludohairyadjective

Word lists with this word