coolie

American  

[koo-lee] / ˈku li /

Also cooly

noun

Disparaging and Offensive.

1. an unskilled laborer, especially formerly in China and India.

2. an unskilled laborer employed cheaply, especially one brought from Asia.

3. a contemptuous term used to refer to an Asian, especially an Indian living in South Africa.

---

adjective

1. Informal. characteristic of or suitable for a coolie.

   working for coolie wages.

coolie British  

/ ˈkuːlɪ /

noun

1. a cheaply hired unskilled Oriental labourer

2. derogatory an Indian living in South Africa

---

Sensitive Note

Both meanings of “unskilled Asian laborer” are found almost exclusively in historical contexts, suggesting imperialistic exploitation of these workers. But coolie is still current as an insulting term used to refer to a person of Asian descent, especially in South Africa.

Etymology

Origin of coolie

First recorded in 1545–55; from Urdu kūlī, from Tamil kūli “hire, hireling”

Example Sentences

Madonna corset dress with a coolie hard hat.

From New York Times • Mar. 3, 2011

Giridharadas introduces us to fascinating characters: The shoeless son of a coolie who transforms himself into a local Dale Carnegie, teaching others how to reinvent themselves.

From New York Times • Jan. 9, 2011

As Sakini, Marlon Brando seems to proclaim with every gesture that his talent is too big for his coolie britches.

From Time Magazine Archive

During the war Ma escaped with his wife from Hong Kong to the village of Ping-shih, where he taught at the exiled Sun Yat-sen University, on a salary lower than that of a factory coolie.

From Time Magazine Archive

Labour then became difficult to obtain, and in 1870 a convention was signed between Holland and England for the regulation of the coolie traffic, and a Dutch government agent for Surinam was appointed at Calcutta.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various