sambo

[ sam-boh ]

noun,plural sam·bos.Older Use: Now Disparaging and Offensive.
  1. a term used to refer to a Black person, especially a male.

  2. Also zam·bo [zam-boh] /ˈzæm boʊ/ .Archaic. a term used to refer to a Latin American of Black and Native American ancestry, or a person of Black and white ancestry.

Origin of sambo

1
An Americanism dating back to 1690–1700; from Colonial Spanish zambo “Black person, person of mixed race,” perhaps special use of Spanish zambo “bowlegged,” said to be from Latin scambus, from Greek skambós “crooked,” or perhaps from Kongo nzambu “monkey”

usage note For sambo

Sambo was a common given name among Black people during the slavery era; it was later a neutral term for a Black person. However, after World War II, an increasing sensitivity to racial stereotypes caused the term to be perceived as demeaning and insulting.

Words Nearby sambo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sambo in a sentence

  • sambo, our guard, for some reasons best known to himself, made no objections to the proceeding.

    Hurricane Hurry | W.H.G. Kingston
  • They are put on a tray of pure white wood with legs called sambo—a dumb waiter, if you like.

    A Fantasy of Far Japan | Baron Kencho Suyematsu
  • sambo could speak a little English, having wrought for several years on the coffee plantation of a Yankee settler.

    Martin Rattler | R.M. Ballantyne
  • “Hi–i; you is fuss rate,” said sambo, as he and his comrades returned and busied themselves in cutting up the dead alligators.

    Martin Rattler | R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for sambo (1 of 2)

sambo1

/ (ˈsæmbəʊ) /


nounplural -bos
  1. slang an archaic and taboo word for a Black person: once used as a term of address

  2. archaic the offspring of a Black person and a member of another race or a mulatto

Origin of sambo

1
C18: from American Spanish zambo a person of Black descent; perhaps related to Bantu nzambu monkey

British Dictionary definitions for sambo (2 of 2)

sambo2

sambo wrestling

/ (ˈsæmbəʊ) /


noun
  1. a type of wrestling based on judo that originated in Russia and now features in international competitions

Origin of sambo

2
C20: from Russian sam (ozashchita) b (ez) o (ruzhiya) self-defence without weapons

Derived forms of sambo

  • sambo wrestler, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012