sambo

American  

[sam-boh] / ˈsæm boʊ /

noun

Older Use: Now Disparaging and Offensive.

• sambos
  plural

1. a term used to refer to a Black person, especially a male.

2. Archaic. Also zambo a term used to refer to a Latin American of Black and Native American ancestry, or a person of Black and white ancestry.

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sambo ¹ British  

/ ˈsæmbəʊ /

noun

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

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sambo ² British  

/ ˈsæmbəʊ /

noun

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

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Sensitive Note

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sambo wrestler
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sambos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sambo

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”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sambo sambos

Amosov's first experience of MMA was at the age of 16 when he joined a combat sambo gym - a form of martial arts popular in Eastern Europe.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2023

Those skills were first developed through judo and sambo before watching VHS tapes of MMA tournaments in the late 1990s and realizing he could compete with the best.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2023

He cited other examples of Putin’s “God-gifted” athleticism: “He can ride the horse, he can swim, he can skate, he can ski, he can do judo and sambo and karate.”

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 3, 2018

Putin, bare-chested under his judo uniform, asked Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko about Russia's progress in getting sambo approved as an Olympic sport.

From Reuters ● Dec. 22, 2010

My plan is to make sambo jelly, which I’ve made before, with the Doctorita.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

Mamita uses these sambos to make dessert on special occasions, but this year has been a par- ticularly good year for sambos, and there are more than we could possibly use.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

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