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{{Redirect|WOP}}
{{Redirect|WOP}}
{{Wiktionary|Wop}}
{{Wiktionary|Wop}}
'''Wop''' is a pejorative slur used to describe [[Italian people|Italians]] or people of Italian descent.<ref>Embury, Stuart P. (2006). "Chapter One: The Early Years". ''The Art and Life of [[Luigi Lucioni]]''. Embury Publishing Company. pp. 1-4.</ref>
'''Wop''' is a pejorative slur for [[Italian people|Italians]] or people of Italian descent.<ref>Embury, Stuart P. (2006). "Chapter One: The Early Years". ''The Art and Life of [[Luigi Lucioni]]''. Embury Publishing Company. pp. 1-4.</ref>


==Etymology==
==Etymology==
According to [[Merriam-Webster]], its first known use was in the [[United States]] in 1908.<ref name=DICTIONARY-Merriam-Webster>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wop Wop]. Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.</ref> The dictionary is unambiguous that it originates from the [[Neapolitan language|Southern Italian]] dialectal term ''[[guappo]]'', roughly meaning thug, [[pimp]], or swaggerer, derived from the Spanish term ''guapo'', meaning handsome, via dialectal French, meaning ruffian or pimp.<ref name="Dictionary.com">[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wop Wop]. Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.</ref> It also has roots in the Latin ''vappa'', meaning wine gone flat.<ref name=DICTIONARY-Merriam-Webster/>
[[Merriam-Webster]] says its first known use was in the United States in 1908.<ref name=DICTIONARY-Merriam-Webster>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wop Wop]. Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.</ref> The dictionary says it originates from the [[Neapolitan language|Southern Italian]] dialectal term ''[[guappo]]'', roughly meaning thug, [[pimp]], or swaggerer, derived from the Spanish term ''guapo'', meaning handsome, via dialectal French, meaning ruffian or pimp.<ref name="Dictionary.com">[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wop Wop]. Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.</ref> It also has roots in the Latin ''vappa'', meaning wine gone flat.<ref name=DICTIONARY-Merriam-Webster/>


In [[Neapolitan language]] and other Southern Italian languages, ''guappo'' is pronounced as ''wah-po''.<ref name="delgado">{{cite book|last1=Delgado|first1=Richard|last2=Stefancic|first2=Jean|title=Understanding Words That Wound|date=2004|publisher=Westview Press|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7mXuAAAAMAAJ&q=wop+guappo+pronounced&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9tKHkJXSAhVHylQKHZrWCIwQ6AEIGjAA}}</ref><ref name="mencken">{{cite book|last1=Mencken|first1=H.L.|title=American Language Supplement 1|date=2012|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|pages=604–605|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7mXuAAAAMAAJ&q=wop+guappo+pronounced&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9tKHkJXSAhVHylQKHZrWCIwQ6AEIGjAA}}</ref> As Southern Italian dialects often feature unaspirated stops or "swallow" the final vowels in a word, ''guappo'' would often sound closer to ''wahpp'' to American or Anglo ears. ''[[Guappo]]'' historically refers to a type of flashy, boisterous, swaggering, [[dandy]]-like criminal in the [[Naples]] area, portrayed as free spirited yet often violent and taking part in criminal enterprises such as [[extortion]], [[usury]], and [[Procuring (prostitution)|procuring]]. The word eventually became associated with members of the [[Camorra]] and has often been used in the Naples area as a friendly or humorous term of address among men.<ref name=denaro>{{it icon}} [http://www.denaro.it/VisArticolo.aspx?IdArt=476314 Quando il guappo non era camorrista], Il Denaro Nr. 159, August 26, 2006</ref> The word likely transformed into the slur "wop" following the arrival of [[Italian diaspora|Southern Italian immigrants into the United States]]. Southern Italian immigrant males would often refer to one another as "guappo" in a jocular or playful manner; as these Southern Italian immigrants often worked as [[manual labor]]ers in the United States, their native-born American employers and fellow laborers took notice of the Italians' playful term of address and eventually began deploying it as a derogatory term for all Italians.<ref name="mencken"/> The term "guappo" was especially used by older Southern Italian immigrant males to refer to the younger Southern Italian male immigrants arriving in America.<ref name="csoti">{{cite book|last1=Csóti|title=Contentious Issues: Discussion Stories for Young People|date=2002|publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T9Fnss15yXoC&pg=PA87&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9tKHkJXSAhVHylQKHZrWCIwQ6AEIUTAJ#v=onepage&q=wop%20guappo%20pronounced&f=false}}</ref><ref name="delgado"/>
In Neapolitan and other Southern Italian languages, ''guappo'' is pronounced as ''wah-po''.<ref name="delgado">{{cite book|last1=Delgado|first1=Richard|last2=Stefancic|first2=Jean|title=Understanding Words That Wound|date=2004|publisher=Westview Press|page=57|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7mXuAAAAMAAJ&q=wop+guappo+pronounced&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9tKHkJXSAhVHylQKHZrWCIwQ6AEIGjAA}}</ref><ref name="mencken">{{cite book|last1=Mencken|first1=H.L.|title=American Language Supplement 1|date=2012|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|pages=604–605|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7mXuAAAAMAAJ&q=wop+guappo+pronounced&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9tKHkJXSAhVHylQKHZrWCIwQ6AEIGjAA}}</ref> As Southern Italian dialects often feature unaspirated stops or "swallow" the final vowels in a word, ''guappo'' would often sound closer to ''wahpp'' to American or Anglo ears. ''Guappo'' historically refers to a type of flashy, boisterous, swaggering, [[dandy]]-like criminal in the [[Naples]] area, portrayed as free spirited yet often violent and taking part in criminal enterprises such as [[extortion]], [[usury]], and [[Procuring (prostitution)|procuring]]. The word eventually became associated with members of the [[Camorra]] and has often been used in the Naples area as a friendly or humorous term of address among men.<ref name=denaro>{{it icon}} [http://www.denaro.it/VisArticolo.aspx?IdArt=476314 Quando il guappo non era camorrista], Il Denaro Nr. 159, August 26, 2006</ref> The word likely transformed into the slur "wop" following the arrival of [[Italian diaspora|Southern Italian immigrants into the United States]]. Southern Italian immigrant males would often refer to one another as "guappo" in a jocular or playful manner; as these Southern Italian immigrants often worked as [[manual labor]]ers in the United States, their native-born American employers and fellow laborers took notice of the Italians' playful term of address and eventually began deploying it as a derogatory term for all Italians.<ref name="mencken"/> The term "guappo" was especially used by older Southern Italian immigrant males to refer to the younger Southern Italian male immigrants arriving in America.<ref name="csoti">{{cite book|last1=Csóti|title=Contentious Issues: Discussion Stories for Young People|date=2002|publisher=Jessica Kingsley Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T9Fnss15yXoC&pg=PA87&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie9tKHkJXSAhVHylQKHZrWCIwQ6AEIUTAJ#v=onepage&q=wop%20guappo%20pronounced&f=false}}</ref><ref name="delgado"/>


===False etymologies===
===False etymologies===


A [[false etymology]] or [[backronym]] sometimes promulgated is that "wop" is an [[acronym]] that comes from "without passport"<ref name=IngTrifEtymonline>{{cite web|title=Ingenious Trifling|url=http://www.etymonline.com/baloney.php|website=Etymoline|accessdate=1 October 2015}}</ref><ref name=specious/> or "without papers",<ref name=specious>{{cite book|last1=O'Conner|first1=Patricia T.|title=Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language|date=2009|publisher=[[Random House]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|page=145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsu47CBwJPUC&lpg=PA145&ots=Z3qGPB4ilN&dq=origins%20of%20the%20specious%20wop&pg=PA145#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=27 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Will|authorlink=George Will|first1=George|title=Yogi Berra, an American Story|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/424509/yogi-berra-obituary-eulogy|accessdate=1 October 2015|agency=[[Washington Post]]|publisher=[[National Review]]|date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> implying that Italian immigrants entered the U.S. as [[Illegal immigrants|undocumented or illegal immigrants]]. The term has nothing to do with immigration documents, as these were not required by U.S. immigration officers until 1918<ref>{{Cite web|title=Your immigrant ancestors came here legally? Are you sure?|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|author=Michael Matza|date=25 June 2017|accessdate=16 January 2018|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/your-immigrant-ancestors-came-here-legally-are-you-sure-20170625.html}}</ref>, after the slur had already come into use in the United States.<ref name=specious/> Further, turning acronyms into words did not become common practice until after World War II, with the practice accelerating with the growth of the United States space program and the Cold War.<ref name=IngTrifEtymonline />
A [[false etymology]] or [[backronym]] sometimes promulgated is that "wop" is an [[acronym]] that comes from "without passport"<ref name=IngTrifEtymonline>{{cite web|title=Ingenious Trifling|url=http://www.etymonline.com/baloney.php|website=Etymoline|accessdate=1 October 2015}}</ref><ref name=specious/> or "without papers",<ref name=specious>{{cite book|last1=O'Conner|first1=Patricia T.|title=Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language|date=2009|publisher=[[Random House]]|location=[[New York City|New York]]|page=145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsu47CBwJPUC&lpg=PA145&ots=Z3qGPB4ilN&dq=origins%20of%20the%20specious%20wop&pg=PA145#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=27 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Will|authorlink=George Will|first1=George|title=Yogi Berra, an American Story|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/424509/yogi-berra-obituary-eulogy|accessdate=1 October 2015|agency=[[Washington Post]]|publisher=[[National Review]]|date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> implying that Italian immigrants entered the U.S. as [[Illegal immigrants|undocumented or illegal immigrants]]. The term has nothing to do with immigration documents, as these were not required by U.S. immigration officers until 1918,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Your immigrant ancestors came here legally? Are you sure?|publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|author=Michael Matza|date=25 June 2017|accessdate=16 January 2018|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/your-immigrant-ancestors-came-here-legally-are-you-sure-20170625.html}}</ref> after the slur had already come into use in the United States.<ref name=specious/> Further, turning acronyms into words did not become common practice until after World War II, accelerating with the growth of the US space program and the Cold War.<ref name=IngTrifEtymonline />


The term has also been said to stand for "working on [[Road surface|pavement]]," as many Italian immigrants and [[Italian-American]] men work or have worked in and have been stereotyped as working in [[construction]], [[manual labor]], and [[masonry]].<ref name="rappoport">{{cite book|last1=Rappoport|first1=Leon|title=Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor|date=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3HkmPhf2mYC&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&source=gbs_navlinks_s}}</ref><ref name="milian">{{cite book|last1=Milian|first1=Claudia|title=Latining America: Black-Brown Passages and the Coloring of Latino/a Studies|date=2013|publisher=University of Georgia Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSDhAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA200&dq=wop+guappo+dialect&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiw6u-yj5XSAhUlr1QKHb61AuoQ6AEIQjAH#v=onepage&q=wop%20guappo%20dialect&f=false}}</ref>
The term has also been said{{By whom?|date=January 2017}} to stand for "working on [[Road surface|pavement]]," as many Italian immigrants and [[Italian-American]] men work or have worked in and have been stereotyped as working in [[construction]], [[manual labor]], and [[masonry]].<ref name="rappoport">{{cite book|last1=Rappoport|first1=Leon|title=Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor|date=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3HkmPhf2mYC&dq=wop+guappo+pronounced&source=gbs_navlinks_s}}</ref><ref name="milian">{{cite book|last1=Milian|first1=Claudia|title=Latining America: Black-Brown Passages and the Coloring of Latino/a Studies|date=2013|publisher=University of Georgia Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSDhAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA200&dq=wop+guappo+dialect&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiw6u-yj5XSAhUlr1QKHb61AuoQ6AEIQjAH#v=onepage&q=wop%20guappo%20dialect&f=false}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 18: Line 18:
*[[List of ethnic slurs]]
*[[List of ethnic slurs]]
*[[Anti-Italianism]]
*[[Anti-Italianism]]
*[[Guappo]]
*[[Guido (slang)]]
*[[Guido (slang)]]
*[[Goombah]]
*[[Goombah]]

Revision as of 05:23, 17 January 2018

"WOP" redirects here. For other uses, see WOP (disambiguation).
Look up Wop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wop is a pejorative slur for Italians or people of Italian descent.[1]

Etymology

Merriam-Webster says its first known use was in the United States in 1908.[2] The dictionary says it originates from the Southern Italian dialectal term guappo, roughly meaning thug, pimp, or swaggerer, derived from the Spanish term guapo, meaning handsome, via dialectal French, meaning ruffian or pimp.[3] It also has roots in the Latin vappa, meaning wine gone flat.[2]

In Neapolitan and other Southern Italian languages, guappo is pronounced as wah-po.[4][5] As Southern Italian dialects often feature unaspirated stops or "swallow" the final vowels in a word, guappo would often sound closer to wahpp to American or Anglo ears. Guappo historically refers to a type of flashy, boisterous, swaggering, dandy-like criminal in the Naples area, portrayed as free spirited yet often violent and taking part in criminal enterprises such as extortion, usury, and procuring. The word eventually became associated with members of the Camorra and has often been used in the Naples area as a friendly or humorous term of address among men.[6] The word likely transformed into the slur "wop" following the arrival of Southern Italian immigrants into the United States. Southern Italian immigrant males would often refer to one another as "guappo" in a jocular or playful manner; as these Southern Italian immigrants often worked as manual laborers in the United States, their native-born American employers and fellow laborers took notice of the Italians' playful term of address and eventually began deploying it as a derogatory term for all Italians.[5] The term "guappo" was especially used by older Southern Italian immigrant males to refer to the younger Southern Italian male immigrants arriving in America.[7][4]

False etymologies

A false etymology or backronym sometimes promulgated is that "wop" is an acronym that comes from "without passport"[8][9] or "without papers",[9][10] implying that Italian immigrants entered the U.S. as undocumented or illegal immigrants. The term has nothing to do with immigration documents, as these were not required by U.S. immigration officers until 1918,[11] after the slur had already come into use in the United States.[9] Further, turning acronyms into words did not become common practice until after World War II, accelerating with the growth of the US space program and the Cold War.[8]

The term has also been said[by whom?] to stand for "working on pavement," as many Italian immigrants and Italian-American men work or have worked in and have been stereotyped as working in construction, manual labor, and masonry.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Embury, Stuart P. (2006). "Chapter One: The Early Years". The Art and Life of Luigi Lucioni. Embury Publishing Company. pp. 1-4.
  2. ^ a b Wop. Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  3. ^ Wop. Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved on 2015-10-11.
  4. ^ a b Delgado, Richard; Stefancic, Jean (2004). Understanding Words That Wound. Westview Press. p. 57.
  5. ^ a b Mencken, H.L. (2012). American Language Supplement 1. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. pp. 604–605.
  6. ^ Template:It icon Quando il guappo non era camorrista, Il Denaro Nr. 159, August 26, 2006
  7. ^ Csóti (2002). Contentious Issues: Discussion Stories for Young People. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
  8. ^ a b "Ingenious Trifling". Etymoline. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  9. ^ a b c O'Conner, Patricia T. (2009). Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language. New York: Random House. p. 145. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  10. ^ Will, George (September 23, 2015). "Yogi Berra, an American Story". National Review. Washington Post. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  11. ^ Michael Matza (25 June 2017). "Your immigrant ancestors came here legally? Are you sure?". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  12. ^ Rappoport, Leon (2005). Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor. Greenwood Publishing Group.
  13. ^ Milian, Claudia (2013). Latining America: Black-Brown Passages and the Coloring of Latino/a Studies. University of Georgia Press.
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