View source for Olé

{{Short description|Spanish interjection used to cheer on or praise a performance}}
{{Other uses|OLE (disambiguation){{!}}OLE}}
[[File:Ole.PNG|thumb|The ''olé'' interjection]]
'''¡Ole!''' or '''¡olé!''' is a Spanish [[interjection]] used to cheer on or praise a performance, especially associated with the audience of [[bullfighting]] and [[flamenco]] dance. The word is also commonly used in many other contexts in Spain, and has become closely associated with the country; therefore it is often used outside Spain in cultural representation of the Spanish people.<ref>{{cite book  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPlVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268 |title=The Influence of Spanish on the English Language since 1801: A Lexical Investigation|first= Julia |last=Landmann |date= 2018|page=268 |publisher=9781527510272|isbn=9781527510272 }}</ref>
In some Latin American countries, but not in Spain, the word may be used as a term of mockery. In football, it can be used both as a form of mockery or encouragement depending on the context the word is used, and it is also frequently used as a [[football chant]] outside Spain as in "[[Olé, Olé, Olé]]".
==Etymology==
The origin of the word ''{{linktext|lang=sp|olé}}'' is uncertain. A popular idea is that the word comes from ''[[Allāh]]'',<ref name=flamenco /><ref name=alta>{{cite web |url=https://madridbullfighting.com/blog/what-does-ole-in-bullfighting-mean/ |title= What does "olé" in bullfighting mean? |work=Madrid Bullfighting}}</ref> the [[Arabic]] word for God, perhaps as ''wa Ilâh'' (by God), or ''yāllāh'' (O God),<ref name=kaye /> which became Hispanicized into ''olé'' meaning "bravo!" and used to express an appreciation of an outstanding performance in [[Spanish language|Spanish]].<ref name=flamenco /> The linguist [[Joan Coromines]] in his ''[[Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico]]'' links ''olé'' to the Spanish word for "hello" ''hola'' and ''hala''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coromines|first1= Joan|first2= José Antonio|last2= Pascual |title= Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico|publisher= Gredos|quote= ¡ole!. Probablemente es lo mismo que el ''hole'' americano, empleado para llamar, variante de ''hola'' y ''hala'', todas ellas de creación expresiva. }}</ref> ''Hola'' has also been proposed to have come from Arabic.<ref name=kaye /> However, the suggested derivations from Arabic of both ''olé'' and ''hola'' are disputed and they are described by the Spanish [[Arabist]] [[Federico Corriente]] as "''falsos arabismos''" (false [[Arabic language influence on the Spanish language|Arabism]]s) in his work ''Diccionario de arabismos y voces afines en iberorromance''.<ref name=kaye>{{cite journal |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/431686 |title=Two Alleged Arabic Etymologies|first=Alan S. |last=Kaye |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|year=2005|volume= 64|number= 2 |pages=109–111 | doi=10.1086/431686|s2cid=161666814}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Diccionario de Arabismos y Voces Afines en Iberorromance (Dictionary of Arabisms and Related Words in Ibero-Romance) |first= Federico|last= Corriente |pages=485–596 |publisher=Gredo|date=1999}}</ref> The Spanish dictionary ''[[Diccionario de la lengua española]]'' that stated the ''wa Ilâh'' origin of ''olé'' in its earlier editions has removed the claim since 2001.<ref name=kaye />
The "Allah" origin hypothesis still has its supporters. Antonio Manuel Rodriguez Ramos, a historian with expertise on the history of Cordoba asserts that Ole means 'Allah' in a Flamenco performance. When a [[cante jondo]] singer says "Ole", he was proclaiming "Allah" in an exaltation of the sublime, but the meaning has been lost in time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psicoeducacion.eu/psicoeducacion/La%20huella%20andalus%C3%AD%20hoy.doc |title=La huella andalusí hoy |work=Psicoeducación }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Antonio |first=Manuel |date=2018 |title=Flamenco. Arqueología de lo jondo |publisher=Almuzara |isbn=978-8417418212 }}</ref>
The word is also proposed to have originated from Greek ὀλολυγή (''ololigi'') to describe a "ritual cry".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://etimologias.dechile.net/?ole.-|title=OLÉ|website=Etimologías de Chile - Diccionario que explica el origen de las palabras|accessdate=2 April 2023}}</ref> However, the word is derived From verb meaning disastrous, with negative connotations and not used repeatedly as is the current practice, nor are there any records of it ever being used a in a similar fashion to express admiration or satisfaction in Greek the way it is currently used in Spanish.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}} Another suggestion is that it came from the Biblical story of [[Jacob]] and the two sisters [[Leah]] and [[Rachel]], where Jacob was deceived into marrying Leah and said "Oh, Leah" when her identity was revealed, which turned into ''ole''.<ref name="pod"/>
The word ''ole'' may be pronounced with or without the accent on the "e"; it may be [[paroxytone]] (written as ''ole''), though sometimes it can be [[oxytone]] (then written ''olé'').<ref name="pod"/> The word is believed to have deep root in [[Andalusia]] and from there it spread to [[Madrid]], and the [[acute accent]] in ''olé'' may be more proper in [[Andalusian Spanish|Andalusian]] and flamenco.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Coromines|first1= Joan|first2= José Antonio|last2= Pascual |title= Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico|publisher= Gredos|quote= Como interjección empleada para animar tiene gran arraigo en Andalucía, pero pronto se hizo popular en Madrid [...] Más propiamente andaluza y flamenca es la acentuación ''olé'' }}</ref> In Andalusia, a number of words similar in meaning to ''olé'' are also used: ''ojú'', ''ozú'' and ''arza''.<ref name="pod"/>
==Use in flamenco==
[[File:El olé (NYPL b12149002-5247020).jpg|thumb|"''El Olé'', the Spanish national dance," with image of [[Pepita de Oliva]]. Sheet music, 1850s.]]
In [[flamenco]] music and dance, shouts of "olé" often accompany the dancer during the performance as encouragement or praise, and at the end of the performance. A singer in [[cante jondo]] may also emphasize the word "olé" with [[melisma]]tic turns.<ref name=flamenco /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpP0xMm7ivMC&pg=PA39 |title=Music |first= Alice |last=Parkinson |page=49 |isbn=978-8189093501|publisher= Lotus Press|date= 2007}}</ref>
Some believed that "ole" originated when the audience exclaimed "Allah" because the presence and power of God could be glimpsed through an exceptional performance in a [[flamenco]] dance.<ref name=flamenco>{{cite web |url=https://www.altalang.com/beyond-words/the-story-of-ole/ |title=The Story of Olé |work=Alta |date=20 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=flamenco2>{{cite web |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_your_elusive_creative_genius/transcript?language=en#t-990180 |title=Your elusive creative genius |work=Elizabeth Gilbert |date=February 2009 }}</ref>  It has also been argued that when Flamenco dancers chant the word in [[cante jondo]], they were reciting the beginning of the [[Shahada]] ("''la illaha illa Allah''") and that they were performing a [[Muwashshah]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=LOS CROMOSOMAS POÉTICOS ANDALUCES|url=http://www.papel-literario.com/index.php?id=1213&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=7247&cHash=e55bb549288a1008a176e8129ce0e995|access-date=2021-02-07|website=www.papel-literario.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=La huella morisca en la cultura andaluza - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odJzgyUbzo|access-date=2021-02-07|website=www.youtube.com| date=9 March 2020 }}</ref>
==Use in sport==
===Bullfighting===
In [[bullfighting]], "olé" is commonly shouted spontaneously by the crowds as a cry of approval in response to a [[matador]]'s performance.<ref>{{cite book |first=Garry |last=Marvin |date= 1994 |title=Bullfight |url={{Google Books |Usu3JMo3tWEC|page=29|plain-url=yes}}|isbn=9781439833322|page=29 |publisher=University of Illinois Press|via=Google Books}}</ref> The spectators may cheer on a series of moves (such as ''{{linktext|lang=sp|chicuelina}}s'' and ''{{linktext|lang=sp|derechazos}}'') performed by the bullfighter, with each move greeted with an "olé".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHJYAAAAYAAJ&q=ole |title=How to Enjoy a Bull Fight |editor=Farris, J. Kelly |first= Eick |last=Frontain|publisher= Hooper Press |date=1966 }}</ref> The crowd may lengthen the vowels into "Ooooooleeeee" when a bull follows the cape of the matador.<ref name="pod">{{cite web |url=https://www.spanishpodcast.net/ole/ |title=¡Olé! – Meaning, origin and use of Olé in Spanish: EP148 |date=24 September 2015 |work=Spanish Podcast}}</ref>
===Football===
The word Olé has also become associated with other sports since the 20th century. In [[association football]], "Olé" as an [[interjection]] as used in bullfighting is believed to be first used in Brazil for [[Garrincha]] in 1958.<ref name=garrincha>{{cite web |url=https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/he-had-left-the-ball-behind-the-day-garrincha-gave-ole-to/1w1jfqscn3a1v1n9zdy91icukr |title='He had left the ball behind' - The day Garrincha gave 'Ole' to football|first=Tauan |last=Ambrósio |work=Goal |date=20 September 2018}}</ref> The word may be chanted by a crowd for a team or player who made an exceptional performance, and it may be used to demean the opposition when their own team put on a dominant performance, or to mock when someone failed in an attempt to achieve their aim.
Since the 1980s, it is commonly used in football in the form of the "[[Olé, Olé, Olé]]" chant, which is sung to a tune rather than the series of isolated spoken exclamations as used in bullfighting. A similar form was heard in Spain in league game in 1982, and this version quickly spread to other clubs.<ref name=baker>{{cite web |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-dirty-tackle/soccer-chants-of-the-brazil-world-cup-explained-221127198.html |title=Soccer chants heard at the Brazil World Cup explained |first=Alex|last= Baker|date=21 June 2014|work=Yahoo Sports}}</ref> This form was first sung in [[San Sebastián]] as "Campeones, hobe, hobe, hobe" (''hobe'' means "the best" in [[Basque language|Basque]]) when [[Real Sociedad]] won the [[1981–82 La Liga|1982 La Liga title]],<ref>{{cite news|date=26 April 1982|title="Me siento feliz" (Arconada)|work=La Vanguardia|url=http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1982/04/26/pagina-21/32946597/pdf.html}}</ref> but sung in other parts of Spain as "Oé, Oé, Oé",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.managingmadrid.com/2012/5/4/2997540/campeones-campeones-live-from-madrid-real-madrid-celebrations-at |title=Campeones! Campeones! Live from Madrid, Real Madrid Celebrations at Cibeles: Part 2 |first= Jared|last= Dublin |date=4 May 2012 |work=Managing Madrid}}</ref> and in other European countries outside of Spain as "Ole, Ole, Ole".<ref>{{cite book  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S35VAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA288 |title=Making History, Not Reliving It |first1=Mark |last1=Worrall|first2= Kelvin|last2= Barker|first3= David |last3=Johnstone |date= 2013|page=288 |publisher=Gate 17 |isbn=9780955745980 }}</ref>
The current popular version of the "Olé, Olé, Olé" chant, however, was first used in a Belgian song "Anderlecht Champion"  initially as "Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez" in French,<ref name="roland">{{cite web |url= https://focus.knack.be/entertainment/muziek/hoe-wijlen-showbizzproducer-roland-verlooven-de-wereld-aan-een-voetballied-hielp/article-column-921065.html|title=Hoe wijlen showbizzproducer Roland Verlooven de wereld aan een voetballied hielp |date=11 March 2017 |work=Focus }}</ref> which morphed into the Spanish "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé" in a version of the song used for the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]], hosted in Mexico.<ref name=VRT>{{cite web |url=https://www.vrt.be/nl/over-de-vrt/nieuws/2020/09/30/selah-sue-opent-jubileumreeks-van-belpop/ |title= Canvas brengt jubileumreeks van Belpop |work=VRT |date=30 September 2020 }}</ref>  This version of the chant quickly spread and is now commonly used by fans in association football worldwide; for example, has been used by the supporters of the [[Republic of Ireland national football team]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Fitzgerald|first1=Thomas S. |last2=Rojas|first2=Diana|last3=Shuman|first3=Marah |work=The Record (Bergen County, NJ) |date=1994-06-19 |title=A Great Day for the Irish as Italy is Defeated, 1–0 |quote=Banging on bodhran drums, the Irish were on their feet – an hour before game time. They chanted, "Ole, ole," their national football cheer, imported from Spain}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20020607/SJOHNX |title=Green Army conquering with smiles |first=John |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |last=Doyle |date=June 7, 2002}}</ref> The chant is also used by fans of other sport, such as the hockey team [[Montreal Canadiens]] at the [[Bell Centre]] and the Welsh [[rugby union]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/leafs-embarrass-habs-6-0-in-fight-filled-game/article8425147/|title=Leafs embarrass Habs 6-0 in fight-filled game|access-date=Sep 7, 2020|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=9 February 2013|last1=Gordon|first1=Sean}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/capitals-defeat-canadiens-5-1-1.504055|title=Capitals defeat Canadiens 5-1|first=Bill|last=Beacon|date=20 April 2010|website=Montreal|accessdate=2 April 2023}}</ref> This chant has also been used in non-sporting events around the world.<ref name=VRT />
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110809074000/http://alexsteer.net/2009/11/ole-allah-and-all/ Ole, Allah and all] Claim for the etymology of olé from Allaah (Allah, God)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ole}}
[[Category:Spanish words and phrases]]