List of ethnic slurs by ethnicity

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Some words or phrases on this page may be found to be offensive by some readers. This page deals with aspects of foul language, blasphemy, and racist remarks. Words are not censored and are displayed in their full form.

A slur can be anything from an insinuation or critical remark to an offensive insult. The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used 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 List of ethnic slurs.

Wikipedia policy requires that material must be verifiable and supported by citations. Please provide citations for all new additions, or they will be reverted.

Contents

[edit] Broader ethnic categories

[edit] African descent

925 
(Southern California) a term for blacks, comes from the Los Angeles Police Department code for "Suspicious Person".[1]
Abd
(Middle Eastern Countries) This term, literally "slave" in Arabic, is used as a slur against Blacks and persons of mixed African descent. Usage is consistent with the Arab institution of black slavery that lasted from approximately 900 to 1962. [1] [2] [3]
Africoon 
(North America) a Black person.[4]
Alabama Blue Gums 
(U.S.) a black person.[5][6][7]
Albino 
(U.S. Blacks) whites, also a derogatory term for light skinned blacks used by darker skinned blacks.[8]
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.[2]
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.[3]
Antique Farm Equipment/Outdated Farm Machinery 
(U.S) a Black person; slaves were mostly used for farming.[9][10]
Ape 
(U.S.) a black person.[4]
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.[5]
Buffie 
a black person.[6]
b. (U.S. black) a young, brown-skinned person 1940s-1950s[7]
Colored 
(U.S.) a Black person. Now considered a slur, it was acceptable in the past. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for example, continues to use its full name unapologetically.
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)
Coon 
(AUS,U.S. & U.K) a black person. Possibly from Portuguese barracoos, a building constructed to hold slaves for sale (1837).[11]
Crow 
a black person,[8] spec. a black woman.
Darkie or darky 
(U.S. and elsewhere) a derogatory term for a black person; also a racist, iconic caricature with inky-black skin, googly eyes and exaggerated red, pink or white lips; a celebrated example of its use was in a popular song of 1928 entitled "Mississippi Mud," performed by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra and sung by the "Rhythm Boys," whose members included Bing Crosby and Johnny Mercer. See also Blackface.
Darkness 
(N. America) An extremely dark skinned black person; gained popularity from its use on 'Chappelle's Show'.
Gable 
a black person.[9]
Golliwogg 
(UK Commonwealth) a dark-skinned person, after Florence Kate Upton's children's book character
Jerry
(Allied nations of WW2) a german soldier of the axis forces.Strongly used by British or US forces during WW2.
Jigaboo, jiggabo, jijjiboo, zigabo, jig, jigg, jiggy, jigga 
(U.S. & UK) a black person (JB) with stereotypical black features (dark skin, wide nose, etc.).[10]
Jim Crow 
(US) 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.
Jim Fish 
(South Africa) a black person[11]
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.)[12][13] See also Kaffir (Historical usage in southern Africa)
Kinder Surprise 
(North America) a dark-skinned person who acts like a white person. (Dark on the outside, white on the inside)
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 describe a person of Indian descent. [12]
Makak 
(Belgium & the Netherlands) a Moroccan; derived from macaque. Also macaca, in reference to North or Subsaharan Africans, originally used by French and Belgian colonialists.
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
Moke / moak / moke 
(U.S.) a black person[citation needed]
Mongrel 
(U.S.) a person of mixed ethnic heritage.
Monkey 
(UK) a black person.[14].
Mosshead 
a black person.[15]
Mosshead 
a black person.[16]
Munt 
(among whites in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia) a black person from muntu, the singular of Bantu[17]
Mustard seed 
(U.S.) a light-skinned person with one white and one black parent[18]
Napkin Nigger 
Offensive term used to describe Indians[19]
Nig-nog 
(UK & U.S.) a black person.[20]
Nigger / Niger / nigor / nigra / nigre (Caribbean) / nigar / niggor / niggur / nigga / niggah / niggar / nigguh/ nuh/ (Brazil nego/ negão/ negalháda) 
(U.S., UK) a black person. Can also generally be used toward anyone with brown or darker skin, such as an Indian. From the word negro which means the color black in numerous languages. Diminutive appellations include "Nigg", "Nigz" and "Groid". The terms "Nigga" and "Niggaz" (plural) are frequently used between African-Americans and between whites without the negative associations of "Nigger." Use of the word is often perceived as extremely offensive if used by a white person in any context. In recent times the female term Negress has been used satirically to refer to the recent prevalence of formulaic tokenism in US-made TV dramas. For example: "Every cop show needs one (1) Blond woman who is not dumb, one (1) Negress-with-issues, one (1) quirky but loveable lab nerd and so on..."
Nigger baby 
(U.S. Military) obsolete: a type of large cannonball [first used in the 1870s][21]
Niggerhead 
an isolated coral head: these are often a navigation hazard in coral reef areas. Also called a bommie.
Nigger shooter 
a slingshot[22]
Niglet (2) 
(UK) Similar to the U.S. version but without the combination with piglet, refers to a baby or child "Nigger".
Nigra / negra / niggra / nigrah / nigruh 
(U.S.) offensive for a black person [first used in the early 1900s][23]
Oreo or Oreo Cookie 
(U.S.) someone of black and white descent (or a black person who "acts white"; black on the outside & white on the inside; see Carlton) often used by lower class blacks against professional and educated blacks, and/or inner city blacks against suburban blacks.
Porch monkey 
(U.S.) a black person. Recently popularized by the film Clerks II. (See also "Alabama porch monkey".)
Powder burn 
a black person.[24]
Quashie 
a black person.[25]
Sambo 
(U.S.) a derogatory term for an African American, Black, or sometimes a South Asian person.
Smoked Irish / smoked Irishman 
(U.S.) 19th century term for Blacks (intended to insult both Blacks and Irish).[26]
Sooty 
a black person [originated in the U.S. in the 1950s][27]

Spade (U.S.) A black person.

Spaghetti Nigger
(North America) an Italian [28] [29]
Spook 
(U.S. whites) a black person (used in the movies Taxi Driver and Back to the Future;[30] its ambiguity – another meaning being "a specter" – is an essential part of the plot of Philip Roth's novel The Human Stain)
Tar baby 
(U.K.; U.S.; and N.Z.) a black child.[31]. See Tar baby.
Teapot 
(British) A black person. [1800s][32]
Thicklips 
a black person.[33]
Uncle Tom 
(U.S. minorities) term for an African-American, Latino, or Asian who panders to white people; a "sellout" (taken from Harriet Beecher Stowe's " Uncle Tom's Cabin".)
Wigger 
(North America) A young white male devotee of African-American pop culture (for example Tim Westwood), or a white person who grew up in a predominantly African-American neighboorhood or town.
Zebra 
(U.S.) an often self-referential or affectionate term applied those with parents of mixed race, specifically black and white. The term was further popularized by the 1992 film Zebrahead

[edit] South Asian descent

ABCD 
(Subcontinentals in U.S.) "American-Born Confused Desi" used for American-born South Asians who are confused about their cultural identity. Often used by ABCDs about other ABCDs. ABCD is the most common version of the phrase, but there are variations of it that extend all the way to the letter 'z' in at least two different versions: "American Born Confused Desi, Emigrated From Gujarat, House in Jersey, Kids Learning Medicine, Now Owning Property, Quite Reasonable Salary, Two Uncles Visiting, White Xenophobia Yet Zestful" and "American Born Confused Desi, Emigrated From Gujarat, Housed In Jersey, Keeping Lotsa Motels, Named Omkarnath Patel, Quickly Reached Success Through Underhanded Vicious Ways, Xenophobic Yet Zestful"[13]
Apu 
(North America) a person with roots in the South Asian subcontinent, popularized by the eponymous Kwik-E-Mart operator from The Simpsons.[14]
CBCD 
(Subcontinentals in Canada) - Canadian-Born Confused Desi - Similar to ABCD, but used for Canadian-born South Asians who are confused about their cultural identity. [15][16]
Charlie 
(U.S.) a Vietnamese person (shortened from radio code for the Vietcong (V.C.): "Victor Charlie"[17]); term also 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.
Coconut 
(U.S./UK/AUS) a black, Filipino, South Asian or Hispanic person who is perceived to act "like a white person" (a coconut is dark on the outside but white on the inside). (NZ) a Pacific Islander, as distinct from the indigenous Maoris, who use the term themselves.
Raghead 
(U.S.) someone of Middle Eastern descent
(UK) a Sikh, or any South Asian
Ragtop 
See Raghead above.
(Canada) a Sikh, a South Asian, or Arab (and mistakenly) sometimes Persians
Wog 
(UK) A dark-skinned South Asian, Arab, or native of India. The origin of the term is disputed, but it is often thought to be an acronym for "Worthy Oriental Gentleman" or "Western Oriental Gentleman," though some etymologists reject such explanations.

[edit] Individual ethnicities

[edit] Koreans

Gook 
(U.S. military slang) A misunderstood word thought to be derogatory by American troops in the Korean War that was derived from the words “hangook” and “migook”. “Hangook” refers to Korea[18] [19] and “migook” is the common word for America.[20] American troops misinterpreted "migook" (sounds like "me gook") as an assertion of "I am a gook". During the Vietnam War, it was mistakenly labeled to the Vietnamese people who also have a similar word “han quốc” which means country. Popularized to include any `Mongoloid' Asian after its widespread use during the War. Like chink, extremely offensive.
Kimchi 
(North America) a Korean, from the spicy pickled Korean cabbage, known for its strong odor.[citation needed]

[edit] See also

[edit] 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)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mendosa, David, www.mendosa.com www.mendosa.com "Radio and Identification Codes"
  2. ^ Speers, loc. cit. pg. 6.
  3. ^ Hugh Rawson, Wicked Words, (1989) p. 19.
  4. ^ Spears, loc. cit. p. 10.; also, Zoo Ape or Jungle Ape
  5. ^ Green, loc. cit. p. 36.
  6. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  7. ^ Green, op. cit. p.154.
  8. ^ "crow." Webster's [Accessed 12 Mar. 2006].
  9. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  10. ^ Simpson, "jigaboo," op. cit.
  11. ^ "Jim Fish." Ibid. [Accessed 12 Mar. 2006].
  12. ^ "Kaffir," Webster's.
  13. ^ Featherstone, Donald (1993). Victorian Colonial Warfare: Africa. UK: Blandford, 85-102. ISBN 0-7137-2256-8.
  14. ^ The Times Online http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2239023,00.html
  15. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  16. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  17. ^ Simpson. "munt". loc. cit.
  18. ^ Ibid. "mustard seed".
  19. ^ the racial slur database
  20. ^ "nig-nog" Webster's
  21. ^ Ibid. "nigger baby".
  22. ^ "nigger-shooter." Webster's, Accessed 11 Mar. 2006.
  23. ^ Simpson. "nigra," loc. cit.
  24. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  25. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  26. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.
  27. ^ Simpson, "sooty." loc. cit.
  28. ^ http://www.msrproductions.com/products.asp?id=13
  29. ^ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1709277/posts
  30. ^ IMDB – Memorable Quotes from Back to the Future (1985) [Accessed 10 May 2006].
  31. ^ Simpson, "tar", op. cit.
  32. ^ Green, loc. cit. p. 1185.
  33. ^ Spears, op. cit. p. 118.

[edit] External links

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopaedia.

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