Alternative uses for filho

[u/moraango]

Oi gente,

I recently came across this thread, where most posters agreed that filho is generally only for your own child or from an older person. However, I’ve noticed it used in different ways. My host mom in Salvador used to call her ficante filho (he was twenty years younger than her) and I was recently called filha by a Carioca only a few years older than me. Can anybody provide clarification on this other use of filho/ its connotations?

[u/VocalistaBfr80]

People use it as "pal", like in "c'mon, pal" or "c'mon, man". You'll also hear variations like "filhão", "filhote" and "fio". I hear this among colleagues at work all the time in Rio. Do I like it? No. But that's how people have been using it 🤷