coolie, noun

Forms:
Also with initial capital.
Origin:
English, Indian English, Tamil, TeleguShow more Special senses of general English coolie, cooly ‘hired labourer’, from Indian English adaptation of a word found in various forms in Indian languages, as Tamil and Telegu kūli.
offensive, derogatory
1. An insulting term for one of Indian descent. Also attributive.
1873 F. Boyle To Cape for Diamonds 285A coolie cook, clad in tunic and turban, pursues the study of his art, with Kaffir assistance, in the tent near by.
1878 H.A. Roche On Trek in Tvl 21Jim the Kafir, Sam the Coolie, or Tom the little Oomfan, — all equally ‘Boys,’ — required a little touching up to hasten their movements.
1894 E.N. Thomas How Thankful We Should Be 6Rickshas..are drawn by Kafir runners, who are called ‘boys,’ in distinction to the Indians who are always called ‘coolies.’
1896 Star in J. Crwys-Williams S. Afr. Despatches (1989) 105The majority are coloured people, while the rest are made up of the poor Dutch class.., and Coolies and Chinamen.
1916 S. Black in S. Gray Three Plays (1984) 235You ought to give me the D.S.O. for dondering that coolie op.
c1936 S. & E. Afr. Yr Bk & Guide 297The business, in Natal, is unfortunately largely in the hands of Coolies, with whom whites can hardly compete.
1943 L. Sowden Union of S. Afr. 203The White man’s attitude to the Indian in South Africa is complicated by the first impression which he received from the early indentured labourers or coolies, for since then the Indian has been to the average South African the ‘coolie,’ or, at best, if he happens to be selling vegetables at the door, he is the ‘Sammy.’
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 144Just because we won’t let these coolies buy land anywhere they start passive resistance movements.
1957 M. Desai tr. of M.K. Gandhi’s Autobiog. 107I was hence known as a ‘coolie barrister’. The merchants were known as ‘coolie merchants’. The original meaning of the word ‘coolie’ was thus forgotten, and it became common appellation for all Indians.
1967 Guardian (U.K.) 4 Oct. 13In South Africa the word ‘coolie’ is used by some whites to describe Asians, and is as bitterly resented by them as the word ‘Kaffir’ is resented by Africans.
1971 Rand Daily Mail 26 Feb. 14To say that a coolie is a ‘South African Indian’ is an insult to the Indian and the greatest travesty of words.
1987 L. Nkosi Mating Birds 92This is a cutthroat world...Coolies! Kaffirs! Boesmans!
1990 J. Naidoo Coolie Location 120‘It’s always the same with you Coolies: impossible to pick one of you up without having the entire family troop down to the police station...’ It wasn’t the observation of Indian clannishness..that struck me, it was the word ‘Coolie’, and the careless and cock-sure way it was used.
1993 [see char ou].
2. combinations (All offensive and derogatory)
Coolie Christmas, an insulting name for the Islamic festival of Moharram and the Hindu festival of Diwali (see Deepavali); also transferred sense;
coolie creeper, in the game of cricket, a ball which stays low after having been bowled (elsewhere called a ‘creeper’);
coolie pink, shocking pink or magenta; tottie pink, see tottie sense 2 b;
coolie shop, coolie store, a small shop owned or managed by a person of Indian origin.
1902 Graaff-Reinet Advertiser 2 May (Pettman)The Coolie Christmas celebration at Umgeni (Natal) last Monday ended in a serious riot.
1905 E. London Dispatch 18 Mar.The festivities in connection with the Hindoo’s festival Mohorrum, known locally as the Coolie Christmas, commences to-night.
1911 Blackburn & Caddell Secret Service 80Within a month he either owned or had a lien on..enough paraffin lamps to supply a coolie temple with illumination on the Coolie Christmas.
1967 E. Rosenthal Encycl. of Sn Afr. 125Coolie Christmas, Old-fashioned name applied in Natal to Muharram..and..Diwali.
1974 Informant, Grahamstown (now Makhanda, Eastern Cape)He’s all togged up like a coolie Christmas.
1989 J. Hobbs Thoughts in Makeshift Mortuary 346He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt in loud stripes, maroon trousers, a mock leopard-skin belt...‘Jake! You look like a –’ she stopped herself just in time from saying ‘coolie Christmas’ and said, ‘— Christmas tree’.
c1978 Cillie & Jordaan Krieketterme 9Coolie creeper(creeper), kruipbal.
1975 Dict. of Eng. Usage in Sn Afr. 53Coolie pink,..Violent pink colour.
1906 Star 2 July 6A native, sentenced..for stealing a bag of fruit and vegetables from B.J. Smith, in a coolie shop, at the corner of Sixth and Kafir streets.
1946 V. Pohl Adventures of Boer Family 11One of their men returned from a coolie shop laden with streamers.
1969 A. Fugard People Are Living There 13Ask some old coolie shop for beetroot leaves? On a Saturday night? Are you mad?
1985 Platzky & Walker Surplus People 102They were pushed out to segregated shopping centres in their own group areas — the..‘Oriental Plazas’ of the big centres and the ‘coolie shops’ of the small towns.
1937 C.R. Prance Tante Rebella’s Saga 125Debtors..on their way to the dorp to spend..perhaps £20 in cash at a ‘Coolie’ store.
1990 M. Nicol Powers that Be 81No more loitering..outside the coolie store.
An insulting term for one of Indian descent. Also attributive.
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18731990
cooldrink, nounn.coon, nounn.
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