The term piropo comes from the Latin word “pyropus”. However, we must not overlook that this, in turn, emanates from the Greek “pyropos”, which can be translated as “fire red” or “fire in the face”. And it is the result of the sum of “pyros”, which is synonymous with “fire”, and “ops”, which is equivalent to “face”.
One of the most common meanings of the compliment concept is linked to the compliment expressed to a woman .
For example: “I was crossing the square when a boy shouted a compliment at me from a car” , “I won my girlfriend over with compliments that I sent her through the chat” , “I like compliments when they are romantic and not vulgar” .
Typically, compliments flatter a person's physical appearance . In some cases, they include a sexist and offensive component, which can make women feel like they are being harassed.
If a man observes a woman passing by the door of his house and says something like “I'm going to tell God that the doors of Heaven are open: an angel has just escaped and I'm seeing him right now,” It may be indicated that the subject in question complimented the lady.
However, it must be established that there are many women who, no matter how gallant the compliments they are given, consider that this attitude is sexist and lacking any logic in the 21st century.
When we think about compliments, most of us think of an image that has been transmitted in this regard in a multitude of movies, television series and even advertisements. Specifically, we are referring to the one in which a woman begins to walk down a street and when she passes by a construction site, the bricklayers who are working on it not only look at her but also make different comments about her beauty or her physique.
One of the “professionals” of the compliment was an Argentine character who was popularly known as Jardín Florido. It was Fernando Albiero Bertapelle (1875 – 1963), who offered unique and lofty praise to the women who walked the streets of Córdoba. Refined and courteous were both his manners and the compliments he gave, hence he was seen as a true poet.
This meaning of the notion of compliment is linked to a mineral that is considered a precious stone . Pyrope, in this sense, is part of the group of minerals called garnets and is characterized by its reddish hue. Since, in ancient times, young men in Spain used to give these compliments to the girls they wanted to conquer, the term began to be used in a symbolic sense to refer to the type of phrases mentioned above.