The Spanish word 'charnego' comes from the Catalan word 'xarnego', which was originally used to refer to immigrants from Spanish-speaking regions who moved to Catalonia. The Catalan term itself comes from the Old Spanish word 'lucharniego', which referred to a hunting dog. This semantic shift from 'hunting dog' to 'immigrant' likely reflected historical attitudes and social dynamics between Catalan-speaking and Spanish-speaking populations.

While not commonly used today, the historical Spanish word 'lucharniego' (meaning 'hunting dog') is etymologically related to 'charnego'. The evolution from 'lucharniego' to 'charnego' involved both phonetic simplification and a significant shift in meaning as it passed through Catalan.

There are no direct English cognates for 'charnego', as this word developed specifically within the context of Spanish-Catalan linguistic and cultural contact. The term is quite specific to the historical and social context of immigration within Spain, particularly regarding movement into Catalonia.