amurar

A nautical term meaning to fasten or secure a sail's tack (amurar una vela) so it holds its position against the wind. In Argentine and Uruguayan lunfangosuo, amurar took on a very different informal meaning: to abandon or leave someone, especially a lover.

• El marinero amuró la vela antes de virar. — The sailor secured the sail's tack before tacking.
• Amuraron el foque para ganar velocidad. — They secured the jib's tack to gain speed.
• En el lunfardo porteño, 'amurar' significa abandonar a alguien. — In Buenos Aires slang, 'amurar' means to abandon someone.

Mixing up the nautical sense (to fasten a sail) with the Argentine slang sense (to abandon someone) — context makes clear which is meant, but the two have essentially nothing in common outside the shared verb form.

• song "Mi noche triste" ("Percanta que me amuraste") — Considered the first tango-canción, written by Pascual Contursi (lyrics, 1915-1917) and first recorded by Carlos Gardel in 1917. Its famous opening line, "Percanta que me amuraste," uses amurar in the Argentine lunfardo sense of a lover abandoning someone.