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Originally Posted by David Kirkham
Kemosabe,
Well, I really don't have the definitive definition...but this is what they always taught us in Spanish classes.
Consider the Lone Ranger is set in Texas. Consider we relieved Mexico (fair and square, of course) of Texas in the Mexican American war. As such, there were quite a few Spanish speaking people there (still are).
"Kemosabe" sounds a lot like "Quien no sabe" which translated (depending on context) means "he who doesn't know," or "who doesn't know [that]." In other words, the Lone Ranger was an idiot because anyone should know the answer to such a dumb question and Tonto was simply calling him an idiot.
Now, why would nice Tonto call the Lone Ranger an idiot...
"Tonto" directly translates to "fool" in Spanish. With all the little old Spanish/Mexican ladies the Lone Ranger saved over countless episodes, there is little doubt it was quite the inside joke on the set.
David
ps. What was this thread about anyway?
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Sort of like the Toyota MR2, or Mr. 2. The word "two" in japanese is "ni". "San" is added to the end of a name to signify "Mr." Therefore, a Toyota MR2 losely translates to a "Toyota Nisan".