koelie

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Afrikaans koelie.

Noun[edit]

koelie (plural koelies)

  1. (South Africa) Alternative spelling of coolie

Afrikaans[edit]

Noun[edit]

koelie (plural koelies)

  1. (offensive) A coolie (a person from India or of Indian ancestry)

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Indonesian. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈku.li/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: koe‧lie

Noun[edit]

koelie m (plural koelies, diminutive koelietje n)

  1. (historical) coolie (Asian manual worker) [from 17th c.]
  2. (Netherlands, derogatory, offensive) coolie (person of Indian or Indonesian background)
  3. (Suriname, derogatory, offensive) coolie (Indian Surinamese person, a Surinamese person of Indian descent)

Descendants[edit]

  • Afrikaans: koelie
  • → Caribbean Javanese: kuli
  • → Papiamentu: kuli
  • → Sranan Tongo: kuli

See also[edit]

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