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

Four months, 42,000 miles and 16 countries later they had 100 hours of recorded interviews with prince and fellah, commissar and coolie, pundit and stevedore.

From Time Magazine Archive

Recently Wen Ko, a cultured former government official from Hunan, was crushed to death by a truck�while shoveling dirt as an earth coolie.

From Time Magazine Archive

Meanwhile the robber’s daughter, an excellent girl, of the most charming beauty, overhearing all that took place between her parents, came running to the cave where the coolie was confined.

From Tales of the Sun or Folklore of Southern India by Kingscote, Mrs. Howard