Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. a general derog. term, occas. joc. term of address; also as adj.

1970		J. Wambaugh New Centurions 120: ‘This the one who fired at you?’ he asked. ‘You prove it, puto, the boy said.
1977		E. Bunker Animal Factory 4: ‘Check that puto,’ the Chicano addict sneered.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 110: I wanted to kill the puto who masterminded the torch.
1990		(con. early 1950s) J. Ellroy L.A. Confidential 28: I knowww you, puto. You beat up my frien’ Caldo ’cause he whipped his puto wife.
2000		Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 puto Definition: a bitch ass mothafucker and or female dog Example: Your a fuckin puto you mark ass nigga!
2002		Cypress Hill Sl. Gloss. 🌐 puto: thief [...] coward.
2004		J.A. Juarez Brotherhood of Corruption 71: ‘Nice ride, puto. What happened to the Mustang?’ .

2. a male prostitute.

1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular.
1979		Maledicta III:2 232: Still more words of this fucking vocabulary are [...] puto (Mexican ‘male whore’).

3. a male homosexual.

1992		Bentley & Corbett Prison Sl. 53: Puto Homosexual.
1993		L. Rodríguez Always Running (1996) 50: He say you are a punk-ass puto.
2002		Cypress Hill Sl. Gloss. 🌐 puto: [...] fag, masculine bitch.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 191: He says [Jack] Kennedy’s a puto communisto.