cooly
[koo-lee]
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coolie
or coo·ly
[koo-lee]
- an unskilled laborer, especially formerly in China and India.
- an unskilled laborer employed cheaply, especially one brought from Asia.
- a contemptuous term used to refer to an Asian, especially an Indian living in South Africa.
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- Informal. characteristic of or suitable for a coolie: working for coolie wages.
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Origin of coolie
1545–55; < Urdu kūlī < Tamil kūli hire, hireling
Usage 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cooly
Contemporary Examples
Leto even knows he killed the performance, cooly uttering, “There you go...” at the end.
The Best (and Worst) Rihanna Covers: Jared Leto, Vin Diesel, Selena Gomez, MoreThe Daily Beast
September 19, 2013
Historical Examples
Cooly (Tamil kúli), a labourer in the fields; also a porter.
Indian Fairy TalesAnonymous
That's the whole force of the illustration, to my mind, Cooly.
Red Pepper's PatientsGrace S. Richmond
As you are cooly to decide, I will as cooly give you the qualities of my mistress.
James Fenimore CooperMary E. Phillips
He had been much in war; careless of wounds, he was cooly intent on destroying the enemy.
Horatio cooly said, he could not but confess he had been to blame, and must therefore allow the justice of her proceeding.
The Fortunate FoundlingsEliza Fowler Haywood
coolie
cooly
- a cheaply hired unskilled Oriental labourer
- derogatory an Indian living in South Africa
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Word Origin
C17: from Hindi kulī, probably of Dravidian origin; related to Tamil kūli hire, hireling
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
Word Origin and History for cooly
coolie
n.
name given by Europeans to hired laborers in India and China, c.1600, from Hindi quli "hired servant," probably from kuli, name of an aboriginal tribe or caste in Gujarat. The name was picked up by the Portuguese, who used it in southern India (where by coincidence kuli in Tamil meant "hire") and in China.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper