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→‎Jews: Adding some references. The "four wheel" thing is a little dubious, as I could only find one use and no academic studies.
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===Jews===
===Jews===
;Four Wheel : from [[Cockney rhyming slang]] - four wheel skid = Yid = Jew. {{fact|date=October 2007}}
;Four Wheel : from [[Cockney rhyming slang]] - four wheel skid = Yid = Jew. {{fact|date=October 2007}}<ref>[http://www.topix.com/entertainment/2007/10/borats-travel-book-exclusive Borat's Travel Book Exclusive], Topix.com, "Why aren't all the four wheel skids in Israel?" Retrieved 2007-11-06.</ref>
;Hymie : A Jew, from the Hebrew ''Chaim'' ("life"). Also used in the term, "Hymie-town", a reference to New York, and in particular, Brooklyn. {{fact|date=October 2007}}
;Hymie : A Jew, from the Hebrew ''Chaim'' ("life"). Also used in the term, "Hymie-town", a reference to New York, and in particular, Brooklyn. <ref>[http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/hymie.htm Hymie], Eric Wolarsky, ''Rhetoric of Race Dictionary Project'', [[College of New Jersey]]. Retrieved 2007-11-06.</ref>
;Kike : Originates from the word 'keikl', in Yiddish, which means 'circle', the reason being that the first Jewish immigrants in America, who were unable to sign their names, signed with a circle instead of a cross.<ref>[http://www.povertyproductions.com/index.cfm?sector=misc&page=slurs]</ref>
;Kike : Originates from the word 'keikl', in Yiddish, which means 'circle', the reason being that the first Jewish immigrants in America, who were unable to sign their names, signed with a circle instead of a cross.<ref name="PovProd">[http://www.povertyproductions.com/index.cfm?sector=misc&page=slurs List of slurs]</ref>
;Sheeny : From Yiddish "shaine" or German "schön" meaning "beautiful".<ref>[http://www.povertyproductions.com/index.cfm?sector=misc&page=slurs]</ref>
;Sheeny : From Yiddish "shaine" or German "schön" meaning "beautiful".<ref name="PovProd" />
;Sheister : Like a shyster lawyer. One who carries on any business, especially legal business, in a mean and dishonest way.<ref>[http://www.povertyproductions.com/index.cfm?sector=misc&page=slurs]</ref>
;Sheister : Like a shyster lawyer. One who carries on any business, especially legal business, in a mean and dishonest way.<ref name="PovProd" />
;Shylock : Comes from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello". Similar to Sheister.<ref>[http://www.povertyproductions.com/index.cfm?sector=misc&page=slurs]</ref>
;Shylock : Comes from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello". Similar to Sheister.<ref name="PovProd" />
;Christ Killer : It implies that the Jew were responsible for the death of the Jesus from the Christian faith.{{fact|date=October 2007}}
;Christ Killer : It implies that the Jew were responsible for the death of the Jesus from the Christian faith.<ref>[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37218 'Christ-killers'], Michael Evans, [[WorldNetDaily]], [[February 20]], [[2004]]. Retrieved 2007-11-06.</ref><ref>[http://religion.articlesarchive.net/its-time-to-retire-the-christ-killer-charge.html It's Time to Retire the 'Christ-killer' Charge], Rolf Gompertz, ArticlesArchive.net. Retrieved 2007-11-06.</ref>


===Koreans===
===Koreans===

Revision as of 10:15, 6 November 2007

The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used in English language as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or to refer to them in a derogatory (critical or disrespectful), pejorative (disapproving or contemptuous), or downright insulting and racist manner in the English-speaking world.

For the purposes of this list, ethnicity can be defined by either race, nationality, or ethnicity.

See also alphabetical list of ethnic slurs.

Broader ethnic categories

African descent

Alligator bait
(U.S.) also "Gator Bait." A black person, especially a black child. More commonly used in states where alligators are found — particularly Florida. First used in the early 1900s, although some hypothesize the term originated in the late 1800s.[1] (The phrase may have lost any racial connotation at all among fans of the Florida Gators, for whom it simply means "a rival team who loses or will lose to the Gators.)
Ann
A white woman to a black person — or a black woman who acts too much like a white one. While Miss Ann, also just plain Ann, is a derisive reference to the white woman, by extension it is applied to any black woman who puts on airs and tries to act like Miss Ann.[2]
Ape
(U.S.) a black person.[3]
Aunt Jemima / Aunt Jane / Aunt Mary / Aunt Sally / Aunt Thomasina
(U.S. Blacks) a black woman who "kisses up" to whites, a "sellout", female counterpart of Uncle Tom.[4]
Boogie
a black person. Referring to "Boogie Woogie" form of jazz? Could come from W. African "Buuker" or "Buckra", meaning "Devil", "Boogie man" or "White Man". Turned around and used against Blacks by Whites.[5]
Buffie
a black person.[6]

Cotton Gremiln

b. (U.S. black) a young, brown-skinned person 1940s–1950s[7]
Bush Boogie
a black person. Derived from alleged jungle origins.[8]
Colored
(U.S.) a Black person. Now typically considered disrespectful, this word was more acceptable in the past. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for example, continues to use its full name unapologetically. Some black Americans have reclaimed this word and softened it in the expression "a person of color".
Coloured
(South Africa) a community of mixed origin, including Khoikhoi and Asian slaves, not derogatory but the normal term for this community
(UK Commonwealth) a black person (while not usually intended to be offensive, the term is not regarded as acceptable by many black people)[9]
Coon
(AUS, U.S. & U.K) a black person. Possibly from Portuguese barracoos, a building constructed to hold slaves for sale. (1837).[10]
Crow
a black person,[11] spec. a black woman.
Gable
a black person.[6]
Golliwogg
(UK Commonwealth) a dark-skinned person, after Florence Kate Upton's children's book character [12]
Jigaboo, jiggabo, jijjiboo, zigabo, jig, jigg, jiggy, jigga
(U.S. & UK) a black person (JB) with stereotypical black features (dark skin, wide nose, etc.).[13]
Jim Crow
(U.S.) a black person; also the name for the segregation laws prevalent in much of the United States until the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.[14]
Jim Fish
(South Africa) a black person[15]
Jungle Bunny
(U.S.) a black person. Jungle is referred to their jungle origins and bunny is referred to some people saying that jack rabbits looked like 'lynched' black people. [16]
Kaffir, kaffer, kaffir, kafir, kaffre
(South Africa) a. a black person. Very offensive. Usage: Kaffir Boy was a famous autobiographical book by Mark Mathabane about his childhood in South Africa. (The South African Consul General in Lethal Weapon 2 calls Danny Glover a kaffir and Mel Gibson a 'kaffir lover'.) b. also caffer or caffre: a non-Muslim. c. a member of a people inhabiting the Hindu Kush mountains of north-east Afghanistan. Origin is from the Arab word kafir meaning 'infidel' used in the early Arab trading posts in Africa. The term passed into modern usage through the British, who used the term to refer to the mixed groupings of people displaced by Shaka when he organized the Zulu nation. These groups (consisting of Mzilikaze, Matiwani, Mantatisi, Flingoe, Hottentot, and Xhosa peoples inhabited the region from the Cape of Good Hope to the Limpopo river) fought the British in the Kaffir Wars 1846–1848, 1850–1852, and 1877–1878.)[17][18] See also Kaffir (Historical usage in southern Africa)
Leroy, LeRoy, Leeroy, LeeRoy
Given name allegedly common among black people. [citation needed]
Macaca
Epithet used to describe a Negro (originally) or a person of North-African origin (more recently). Came to public attention in 2006 when U.S. Senator George Allen infamously used it to refer to one of Jim Webb's volunteers, S. R. Sidarth, when he said, "This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, macaca, or whatever his name is." [19]
Mammy or Mammy Woman
(U.S.) an unflattering term for a mature black woman — usually subservient (term popularized by Al Jolson in song and film), a pop culture example is Hattie McDaniel's character in Gone with the Wind for which she won the Academy Award[20]
Monkey
(UK) a black person.[21]
Mosshead
a black person.[6]
Munt
(among whites in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia) a black person from muntu, the singular of Bantu[22]
Mustard seed
(U.S.) a light-skinned person with one white and one black parent[23]
Nig-nog or Nig Jig
(UK & U.S.) a black person.[24]
Nigger / nigra / nigga / niggah / nigguh / nigglet
(U.S., UK) a black person. From the word negro which means the color black in numerous languages. Diminutive appellations include "Nigg", "Nigz". The terms "Nigga" and "Niggaz" (plural) are frequently used between African-Americans without the negative associations of "Nigger."
Nigger baby
(U.S. Military) obsolete: a type of large cannonball [first used in the 1870s][25]
Niggerhead
1.)an isolated coral head: these are often a navigation hazard in coral reef areas. Also called a bommie. 2.) a species of tobacco plant (appears in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn").
Nigger shooter
a slingshot[26]
Nigra / negra / niggra / nigrah / nigruh
(U.S.) offensive for a black person [first used in the early 1900s][27]
Nigre
(Caribbean)
Pint of Guinness / Mr. Guinness etc.
A black person with white or very fair hair, so called due to the drink Guinness, which has a black body and a white head.
Powder burn
a black person.[6]
Quashie
a black person.[6]
Sambo
(U.S.) a derogatory term for an African American, Black, or sometimes a South Asian person.[28][29]
Smoked Irish / smoked Irishman
(U.S.) 19th century term for Blacks (intended to insult both Blacks and Irish).[6]
Sooty
a black person [originated in the U.S. in the 1950s][30]
Tar baby
(UK; U.S.; and N.Z.) a black child.[31] See Tar baby.
Teapot
(British) a black person. [1800s][32]
Thicklips
a black person.[6]
Uncle Tom
(U.S. minorities) term for an African-American, Latino, or Asian who panders to white people; a "sellout" (from the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.)

Indian descent

ABCD
(East Indians in U.S.) "American-Born Confused Desi" used for American-born South Asians (mainly Indians as Indians are by far the largest number of "South Asians" not only in USA but also in the world) who are confused about their cultural identity. Often used by ABCDs about other ABCDs.

East Asian descent

Charlie
(U.S.) A generally non-pejorative slang term used by American troops during the Vietnam War as a short-hand term for Vietnamese guerrillas: it was shortened from "Victor Charlie", the radio code designation for Viet Cong, or VC.[33]
Chee-chee
a Eurasian half-caste [probably from Hindi chi-chi fie!, literally, dirt][34]
Chinaman
(U.S. and English) Chinese person, used in old American west when discrimination against Chinese was common.[35]. Possibly coined by early Chinese Americans from a translation of "Zhong Guo Ren" which is literally "China" and "man". Compare to "Frenchman" or "Irishman," generally not considered insulting. The term generates controversy when still used in geographic places associated or resembling Chinese, and often used without intended malice outside of the U.S. Though it is still heard in the lyrics to the 70s song "Kung Fu Fighting", it tends to generates objections in modern times, especially in the U.S. In 20th century Chicago politics, "Chinaman" had a specific, non-insulting meaning. A junior politician or government worker's political patron was their "Chinaman" (or "chinaman" without the initial capital) regardless of their actual ethnic heritage or gender.[36]
Chink
(U.S.) used to refer to people of perceived Chinese descent. Describes their eye slits or chinks. Considered extremely derogatory, although at least one U.S. school proudly used the term as a sports mascot until the 1980s.[37]
Chinky
(UK, US and India) used to refer to people of perceived Chinese descent. Considered derogatory, although not as derogatory as Chink, or Ching Chong. It is also often used, without offensive intent, to refer to a Chinese restaurant.[37]
Gook
used by the Americans to describe Koreans during the Korean war. Came about when Koreans asked if the soldiers were from America ("Mi Gook" in Korean) a native of Southeast Asia or the South Pacific, esp. when a member of an enemy military force. Slang from the Vietnam War. Term used by American GI's to describe for Vietnamese people or any Asian enemies.[citation needed]
Jap
Japanese descent.[citation needed]
Nip
Japanese (Nippon) descent.[citation needed]

European descent

Afro-Saxon
(North America) A young white male devotee of black pop culture.[38]
Anglo
(U.S.) Any white, English-speaking person, regardless of whether he or she has British ancestry. This term is most often used by Hispanics and Italians and often not meant to be offensive.[39]
Ann
A white woman to a black person — or a black woman who acts too much like a white one. While Miss Ann, also just plain Ann, is a derisive reference to the white woman, by extension it is applied to any black woman who puts on airs and tries to act like Miss Ann.[40]
Bule
(Indonesia) White people. Literally: albino, but used in the same way that 'colored' might be used to refer to a black person to mean any white person. [41].
Charlie
Mildly derogatory term used by African Americans, mainly in the 1960s and 1970s, to refer to a white person (from James Baldwin's novel, Blues For Mr. Charlie).
Coonass or coon-ass
(U.S.) a Cajun; may be derived from the French conasse. May be used among Cajuns themselves
Cracker
(U.S.) Derogatory term for whites, particularly from the American South. Derived from slave drivers who "cracked" the whip on the backs of slaves. [42] May be used by whites themselves in a non-offensive manner.
Gringo
(The Americas) Non-Hispanic U.S. national. Hence Gringolandia, the United States; not always a pejorative term, unless used in an offensive manner.[43]
Gubba
(AUS) Aboriginal (Koori) term for white people[44] — derived from Governor / Gubbanah
Gweilo, gwailo, or kwai lo (鬼佬)
(Hong Kong and South China) A White man. Gwei means "ghost." The color white is associated with ghosts in China. A lo is a regular guy (i.e. a fellow, a chap, or a bloke).[45] Once a mark of xenophobia, the word was promoted by Maoists and is now in general, informal use.[46]
Honky (U.S.)
Offensive term for a white person.
Haole
(Hawaiian) stranger. used to refer to a mainlander, a white person.[citation needed]
Ofay
A white person[47]
Peckerwood
(U.S.) a white person (southerner). The term "Peckerwood", an inversion of "Woodpecker", is used as a pejorative term. This word was coined in the 19th century by southern blacks to describe poor whites. They considered them loud and troublesome like the bird, and often with red hair like the woodpecker's head plumes.[48]
Roundeye
(English speaking Asians) a white or non-Asian person.[49]
Wigger
is a slang term for a white person who allophilically emulates mannerisms, slangs and fashions stereotypically associated with urban African Americans; especially in relation to hip hop culture.

Individual ethnicities

Germans

See List of terms used for Germans

Roma-Gypsies

Gyp
to cheat or swindle as by a gypsy [citation needed]

Italians

Dago
(U.S.) A person of Italian descent.
Gino
(Australia and Canada) A person of Italian descent.
Ginzo
(U.S.) an Italian-American.[50]
Goombah
An Italian male, especially an Italian thug or mafioso.
"Guido"
is a pejorative slang term for a young, lower or working class, Italian-American male from the urban Northeastern United States. The guido stereotype is often portrayed as humorously and incorrigibly uncultured, with a thuggish and overtly macho attitude and an unyielding pride in his Italian ancestry.
Greaseball
(US) A person of Italian descent. [51]
Guinea
(U.S.) someone of Italian descent. (Derives from "Guinea Negro", was called because of some Italians who had dark complexions[52]
Spaghetti Bender / Spaghetti Nigger
A person of Italian descent.
Wog
(Australian and Britain) Usually refers to any person of Mediterranean, Southern European, and Middle Eastern descent. Often used for Italians, Greeks, and Arabs.
Wop
(US) A person of Italian descent.

Jews

Four Wheel
from Cockney rhyming slang - four wheel skid = Yid = Jew. [citation needed][53]
Hymie
A Jew, from the Hebrew Chaim ("life"). Also used in the term, "Hymie-town", a reference to New York, and in particular, Brooklyn. [54]
Kike
Originates from the word 'keikl', in Yiddish, which means 'circle', the reason being that the first Jewish immigrants in America, who were unable to sign their names, signed with a circle instead of a cross.[55]
Sheeny
From Yiddish "shaine" or German "schön" meaning "beautiful".[55]
Sheister
Like a shyster lawyer. One who carries on any business, especially legal business, in a mean and dishonest way.[55]
Shylock
Comes from Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and "Othello". Similar to Sheister.[55]
Christ Killer
It implies that the Jew were responsible for the death of the Jesus from the Christian faith.[56][57]

Koreans

Gook
(U.S. military slang) A misunderstood word thought to be derogatory by American troops in the Korean War; it was derived from the words "hanguk" and "miguk". "Hanguk" refers to Korea or specifically Koreans. "Miguk" is the common word for America. American troops heard "miguk" as "me gook", misunderstanding it to be saying "I am a gook". During the Vietnam War, it was misapplied to the Vietnamese people, who have a similar-sounding word, "quốc", which means "country". Popularized to include any 'Mongoloid' Asian after its widespread use during the War. Like chink, it is extremely offensive.[citation needed]

See also

Literature

  • John A. Simpson, Oxford Dictionary Of Modern Slang ISBN 0198610521
  • John A. Simpson, Oxford English Dictionary Additions Series ISBN 0198612990
  • Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, (2002)
  • Richard A. Spears, Slang and Euphemism, (2001)
  • Jonathon Green, The Cassell Dictionary of Slang (1998)
  • Bruce Moore (editor), The Australian Oxford Dictionary, (2004)
  • The New Oxford American Dictionary, second edition. Ed. Erin McKean. (Oxford University Press: 2005.
  • The Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. (Oxford University Press: 2004)
  • Grand dictionnaire (Larousse: 1993)

References

  1. ^ Speers, loc. cit. pg. 6.
  2. ^ Hugh Rawson, Wicked Words, (1989) p. 19.
  3. ^ Spears, loc. cit. p. 10.; also, Zoo Ape or Jungle Ape
  4. ^ Green, loc. cit. p. 36.
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  7. ^ Green, op. cit. p.154.
  8. ^ [2]
  9. ^ A story of Africa: Apartheid Law
  10. ^ Online Etymology Dictionary: Coon
  11. ^ "crow." Webster's [Accessed 12 March 2006].
  12. ^ "'Controversial' golly to be shelved" BBC News 23 August 2001
  13. ^ Simpson, "jigaboo," op. cit.
  14. ^ Jim Crow Laws: Arkansas
  15. ^ "Jim Fish." Ibid. [Accessed 12 March 2006].
  16. ^ "rsdb"[3]
  17. ^ "Kaffir," Webster's.
  18. ^ Featherstone, Donald (1993). Victorian Colonial Warfare: Africa. UK: Blandford. pp. 85–102. ISBN 0-7137-2256-8.
  19. ^ Allen Quip Provokes Outrage, Apology
  20. ^ The Mammy Caricature
  21. ^ The Times Online http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2239023,00.html
  22. ^ Simpson. "munt". loc. cit.
  23. ^ Ibid. "mustard seed".
  24. ^ "nig-nog" Webster's
  25. ^ Ibid. "nigger baby".
  26. ^ "nigger-shooter." Webster's, Accessed 11 March 2006.
  27. ^ Simpson. "nigra," loc. cit.
  28. ^ Boskin, Joseph (1986) Sambo, New York: Oxford University Press
  29. ^ Goings, Kenneth (1994) Mammy and Uncle Mose: Black Collectibles and American Stereotyping, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-32592-7
  30. ^ Simpson, "sooty." loc. cit.
  31. ^ Simpson, "tar", op. cit.
  32. ^ Green, loc. cit. p. 1185.
  33. ^ "The Language of War", on the American Experience/Vietnam Online website; retrieved August 31, 2007
  34. ^ "chee-chee." Webster's [Accessed 12 Mar. 2006].
  35. ^ Peak of Controversy in Canmore "a resident of Calgary, wrote to the Minister of Community Development strongly objecting to the name Chinaman's Peak"
  36. ^ "From trouble to patronage job, and now to bigger trouble" January 27, 2004 Chicago Sun-Times. Accessed March 7, 2007. "Before the age of political correctness, Munoz would have been called Torres' chinaman, and in City Hall, that's still what they'd call him, but if you prefer, you can stick with mentor or patron."
  37. ^ a b Simpson, "Chinky"
  38. ^ Speers, loc. cit. p.4.
  39. ^ Webster.com/dictionary/anglo
  40. ^ Hugh Rawson, Wicked Words, (1989) p. 19.
  41. ^ Don't call me bule! How expatriates experience a word
  42. ^ 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
  43. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary: Gringo
  44. ^ "gubba," Moore, op. cit. [Accessed 7 May 2006.]
  45. ^ Gwai Louh: The Foreign Devil
  46. ^ Gweilo
  47. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary: Ofay
  48. ^ A Visual Database of Extremist Symbols, Logos and Tattoos
  49. ^ Spears, p. 295.
  50. ^ "ginzo" The New Oxford American Dictionary, second edition. Ed. Erin McKean. (Oxford University Press: 2005.) [Accessed 6 May 2006]
  51. ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/greaseball
  52. ^ "Guinea", op. cit. [Accessed 21 Mar. 2006].
  53. ^ Borat's Travel Book Exclusive, Topix.com, "Why aren't all the four wheel skids in Israel?" Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  54. ^ Hymie, Eric Wolarsky, Rhetoric of Race Dictionary Project, College of New Jersey. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  55. ^ a b c d List of slurs
  56. ^ 'Christ-killers', Michael Evans, WorldNetDaily, February 20, 2004. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  57. ^ It's Time to Retire the 'Christ-killer' Charge, Rolf Gompertz, ArticlesArchive.net. Retrieved 2007-11-06.

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