Hokkien for "red hair" referring to Dutch people from the 17th century and expanded to white people by the 19th century, it has become a neutral term, though is sometimes seen as derogatory. Serbo-Croatian: Alpski Srbin (ex-Yugoslavia) The term derives from the fact that, during the slave trade, black children and babies were supposedly used as bait by whites in the US to catch alligators. United States (More commonly used in states where alligators are found, particularly Florida.)įirst used in the early 20th century, although some hypothesize the term originated in the late 19th century. Indirectly refers to black American people as worse or lower-valued than white American people when associating anything bad with them.įrom 阿差 Cantonese Yale: achā from "acchā" meaning "good" or "OK" in Hindi. Shoddy, second-rate or unconventional, makeshift workmanship. Although Abo is still considered quite offensive by many, the pejorative boong is now more commonly used when the intent is deliberately to offend, as that word's status as an insult is unequivocal.Īfro engineering, African engineering, Colored engineering or nigger rigging Originally, this was simply an informal term for Aborigine, and was in fact used by Aboriginal people themselves (such as in the Aboriginal-run newspaper Abo Call) until it started to be considered offensive in the 1950s. Used chiefly by South Asian immigrants to imply confusion about cultural identityĪrabic for slave, associated with the Arab slave trade
The term implies an otherness or lack of connection to their Chinese identity and (usually) Chinese language however, it has been reappropriated by many Chinese Americans and used to convey positive connotations.Īmerican-Born Confused Desi, Indian Americans or other South Asian Americans, ( desi) who were born in the United States.
From the proper name Abraham.Īmerican-born Chinese, Han or other Chinese (including Taiwanese) born and raised in the United States. However, such terms are not included in this list. Other common insulting modifiers include "dog", "filthy", etc. Each term is listed followed by its country or region of usage, a definition, and a reference to that term.Įthnic slurs may also be produced as a racial epithet by combining a general-purpose insult with the name of ethnicity, such as "dirty Jew", "Russian pig", etc. The connotation of a term and prevalence of its use as a pejorative or neutral descriptor varies over time and by geography.įor the purposes of this list, an ethnic slur is a term designed to insult others on the basis of race, ethnicity, or nationality. Some of the terms listed below (such as "Gringo", "Yank", etc.) can be used in casual speech without any intention of causing offense. The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or otherwise insulting manner.