The word mequetrefe is used to insult a person and its meaning is used in three different ways: nosy, cheating or unimportant. Their synonyms are the words: melcatrefe and melquetrefe.
nosy individual
Mequetrefe is the name given to the nosy individual who tends to give his opinion in matters that do not concern him. In this sense, the mequetrefe is an inconvenient person with the same meaning popularly attributed to nosy or nosy.
cheating individual
In this situation, the mequetrefe is a cheater who is always deceiving people. In the same sense, a mequetrefe is that individual to whom all the following adjectives fit: characterless, liar, rogue, crook, scoundrel, crook, crook, or rogue.
unimportant individual
In this case, the meaning of mequetrefe alludes to the popular “joão-no-nobody”. He is a person without any social prestige, without any importance, that is, a useless individual for society.
Etymology
The word has a controversial origin, with some who defend its origin from the English make trifle (to do unimportant, worthless things); from the Arab mogatref (a petulant or audacious subject); or even from Meco Portuguese (individual, subject) + trefo, trefe or trefego (deceptive, astute).
