The Spanish word 'politiquero' (meaning 'political hack' or 'unprincipled politician') has its roots in ancient Greek. It starts with the Greek word 'polis' (πόλις) meaning 'city', which developed into 'politikos' (πολιτικός) meaning 'of citizens' or 'civic'. This was borrowed into Latin as 'politicus' meaning 'political', which eventually led to the Spanish word 'política' (politics). The final form 'politiquero' was created by adding the Spanish suffix '-ero' (which forms agent nouns, similar to '-er' in English) to 'política', literally meaning 'one who deals in politics' but with a negative connotation.

Some simpler related Spanish words include 'política' (politics), 'político' (politician/political), and 'policía' (police). All these words share the same Greek root 'polis' meaning 'city'. While 'política' refers to the general practice of governance and public affairs, 'politiquero' developed a more negative meaning to describe someone who engages in politics in an unprincipled or self-serving way.

English speakers will recognize many cognates from this same word family, including 'politics', 'political', 'politician', and 'police'. The word 'policy' is also related. All these words trace back to the Greek 'polis' meaning 'city'. Even the word 'metropolis' contains this root - it literally means 'mother city' in Greek. While English developed 'politician' as a neutral term, Spanish created 'politiquero' as a pejorative term for an unscrupulous political operator.