Marielito

Marielito [mahr-ee-uh-lee-toh; Spanish mah-rye-lee-taw] Word Origin noun, plural Ma·ri·e·li·tos [mahr-ee-uh-lee-tohz; Spanish mah-rye-lee-taws] /ˌmɑr i əˈli toʊz; Spanish ˌmɑ ryɛˈli tɔs/.

1. a refugee from Cuba who came to the U.S. in 1980 as part of a mass migration that sailed from Mariel, Cuba.

Origin of Marielito American Spanish, equivalent to Mariel, from which the migration took place + -ito noun suffix, usually diminutive Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019