dago
English
Etymology
Alteration of diego (“Spaniard”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Spanish Diego (common Spanish name) by law of Hobson-Jobson. See Mick and Jock for similar epithets.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈdeɪɡəʊ/
- Rhymes: -eɪɡəʊ
Noun
- (UK, slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or other Mediterranean descent.
- 1933, George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, Chapter XXVIII, [1]
- And all foreigners to him were "dem bloody dagoes"—for, according to his theory, foreigners were responsible for unemployment.
- 1933, George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, Chapter XXVIII, [1]
- (US, Australia, slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Italian descent.
Usage notes
- The meaning behind the word is still offensive in the United States. It has become less pejorative among certain groups reclaiming the term in recent years, with people of Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese origin themselves adopting the term. In the Upper Midwest region of the United States, the term is used for several Italian-inspired food items with no apparent pejorative connotation.
- Usually a sailor or deckhand. "Diego" is the Portuguese nickname for any deckhand and "jack" is the British equivalent.
- The Hill in St. Louis, an Italian-American enclave, is often referred to colloquially as "Dago Hill."
Derived terms
Translations
person of Italian descent — see wop
Anagrams
Northern Sami
Noun
dagọ
Categories:
- English terms derived from Spanish
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪɡəʊ
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- English slang
- English offensive terms
- English ethnic slurs
- American English
- Australian English
- Northern Sami non-lemma forms
- Northern Sami noun forms