Red Indian

American  

noun

Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a North American Indian.

---

Red Indian British  

noun

1. an old-fashioned name, now considered highly offensive, for Native American

---

Etymology

Origin of Red Indian

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Red Indian

Making the dish even more remarkable is that Mr. Charles shot, skinned and butchered the moose himself just days earlier near Red Indian Lake in central Newfoundland.

From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2017

That vivacious youth, breaking through all the customs and peculiarities of Red Indian etiquette, frequently during the journey came and talked with Moonlight, and seemed to take special pleasure in amusing Skipping Rabbit.

From The Prairie Chief by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne

Thus we do not know whether or not the Red Indian version is borrowed from the European myth, probably enough it is not.

From The Book of Romance by H. J. (Henry Justice) Ford

But the analogy between a Scottish clan and an American totem-kin is close enough to justify Mr. Max Müller in speaking of Red Indian ‘clans.’

From Modern Mythology by Andrew Lang

Well, it is clearly an absurd mistake to suppose that Columbus discovered America; as Artemus Ward pertinently remarked, the noble Red Indian had obviously discovered it long before him.

From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Grant Allen