Chinee
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Back-formation from Chinese, using -ee.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
Chinee (plural Chinees)
- (dated, offensive, Chinese Pidgin English, ethnic slur) A person from China.
- 1870, Bret Harte, Plain Language from Truthful James:
- But the hands that were played / By that heathen Chinee, / And the points that he made, / Were quite frightful to see,— / Till at last he put down a right bower, / Which the same Nye had dealt unto me.
Usage notes[edit]
- This spelling was used intentionally, as a pejorative, in the United States in the 19th century.