“Olé” or “Ole” is an interjection thoroughly used in Spain and also in Portugal. This expression manifests energy and enthusiasm; It serves to praise, approve or encourage.
It is quite popular to hear it in flamenco, bullfighting and football. Although today we could say that it is the most typical Spanish word.
The legend says that “Olé” comes from the episode of the Bible in which Jacob was deceived on the day of his wedding in which the bride was not Raquel, but Leah. The audience during the ceremony, were trying to warn him “Oh, Lea!”, Which results in “olé”
The most widespread hypothesis regarding the origin of this untranslatable expression is that it comes from Arabic allah, meaning Allah or God (the way we say oh, God or oh, my God). These are just suppositions, since the Royal Spanish Academy does not clarify the term but is what is most believed due to in our vocabulary, more than 4,000 words of Spanish come from Arabic.
P.R.C.