Coolie Definition

ko͝olē
noun
In India, China, etc., an unskilled native laborer.
Webster's New World
Any person doing hard or menial work for little pay.
Webster's New World

(offensive, slang) An unskilled Asian worker, usually of Chinese or Indian descent; a labourer; a porter. Coolies were frequently transported to other countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries as indentured labourers.

Wiktionary

(offensive, slang, Trinidad, West Indies, Guyana and parts of Africa) A person of Indian descent.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Coolie

Noun

Singular:
coolie
Plural:
coolies

Origin of Coolie

  • From Hindustani क़ुली / قلی (qulī, “hired laborer, slave”), from Turkish köle. Other forms occur in Bengali kuli and Tamil kuli, "daily hire." The Mandarin word 苦力 (kǔlì), meaning "to exert one's abilities; heavy labour work" in Classical Chinese, may have been influenced by cognates of the above Hindi word in other languages and may have further influenced English.

    From Wiktionary

  • Hindi qulī laborer perhaps ultimately from Kulī a tribe in Gujarat

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

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Words Starting With

CCOCOO

Words Ending With

EIELIE

Unscrambles

coolie

Words Starting With C and Ending With E

Starts With C & Ends With EStarts With CO & Ends With EStarts With C & Ends With IE

Word Length

6 Letter Words6 Letter Words Starting With C6 Letter Words Ending With E