redskin
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From red + skin. References to indigenous Americans' skin being red can be found from the 1580s,[1] and ambiguous (disputed) instances of the term redskin or red skin exist from the 1690s,[1][2] perhaps as straightforward references to that, or perhaps in reference to tribes such as the Beothuk painting themselves with red paint.[2] However, the earliest unambiguous instances of the term are from the 1760s, apparently translating (via French peau-rouge) a native term from a tribe of the Mississippi Valley.[3][4]
Alternative forms[edit]
Noun[edit]
redskin (plural redskins)
- (now sometimes considered an ethnic slur and offensive) A Native American.
- 1699?, Henry Smith or Samuel Smith or a relative, possibly quoting another colonist, in a letter quoted by a descendant (which, however, Ives Goddard argues is fake):
- Ye first Meeting House was solid mayde to withstande ye wicked onsaults of the Red Skins.
- 1699?, Henry Smith or Samuel Smith or a relative, possibly quoting another colonist, in a letter quoted by a descendant (which, however, Ives Goddard argues is fake):
Usage notes[edit]
Previously used neutrally, the word began to be used as a term of contempt in the late 1800s; it is now often considered offensive.
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
an American Indian
|
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “redskin”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “redskin”, in Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ “redskin”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ^ “redskin”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading[edit]
- “redskin”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Etymology 2[edit]
Noun[edit]
redskin (plural redskins)
- (anarchism, communism) An anticapitalist skinhead.
- The Red & Anarchist Skinheads, a left‐wing splinter of the SHARP group, formed in 1993. It grew out of influences from the redskin culture in England.