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Wog
Definitions
- 1 Abbreviation of whole-of-government. abbreviation, alt-of
- 1 Abbreviation of Winter Olympic Games. abbreviation, alt-of
- 2 A surname.
- 1 A non-white person, originally specifically an Indian. (In later use, more loosely used of various non-white peoples. Now dated and sometimes conflated with gollywog.) British, dated, ethnic, slur
"'One of the little Indian girls whose name is Polly has just come in to ask, " Miss D., what is a wog? One white boy called me a polliwog, and I thought a wog must be something bad."'"
- 2 Clipping of polliwog. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
- 3 A bug, an insect. Australia, slang
- 4 Initialism of water-oil-gas, typically marked on valves that are acceptable for use with these fluids. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, uncountable
- 5 (offensive British slang) term used by the British to refer to people of color from Africa or Asia wordnet
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- 6 Someone of Mediterranean descent, such as an Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Lebanese, Greek, or Maltese person. Australia
"'Every fucking aussie. Go to Cronulla Beach Sunday for some Leb and wog bashing Aussie Pride ok.'"
- 7 A pollywog, or sailor who has never crossed the Equator. slang
- 8 A minor illness caused by bacteria, virus, intestinal parasite, etc. Australia, slang
- 9 A person who is not a Scientologist. attributive, often
"So yes, they do keep records, but no they are not 'accurate' in the wog world meaning of the word."
- 10 A toy insect in parts that can be assembled, used in fund-raising games. Australia, obsolete, slang
- 1 (Of soldiers stationed abroad) to sell something, especially illicit or stolen goods, to the local inhabitants. Australia, obsolete
- 2 To steal. Australia, UK, dated
Etymology
The origins are not entirely clear. The term was first noted by the lexicographer F.C. Bowen in 1929, in his Sea Slang: a dictionary of the old-timers’ expressions and epithets, where he defines wogs as "lower class Babu shipping clerks on the Indian coast." The most common theory is that it is a clipping of golliwog, which was first used as the name of a black-faced doll in Florence Upton’s 1895 book The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg. A variety of folk etymologies exist, with the most common claiming that the word is an acronym for one of either westernized, worthy, wily, or wonderful preceding “Oriental gentlemen”. Another erroneous claim is that it was used in the mid 1800s, with WOGS (meaning Working On Government Service) stencilled on the shirts of Indian workers in Egypt. The Scientologist sense is from the usage of L. Ron Hubbard, who apparently accepted the folk etymology from “worthy Oriental gentleman” but employed the term to mean “common ordinary run-of-the-mill garden-variety humanoid”.
The origins are not entirely clear. The term was first noted by the lexicographer F.C. Bowen in 1929, in his Sea Slang: a dictionary of the old-timers’ expressions and epithets, where he defines wogs as "lower class Babu shipping clerks on the Indian coast." The most common theory is that it is a clipping of golliwog, which was first used as the name of a black-faced doll in Florence Upton’s 1895 book The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwogg. A variety of folk etymologies exist, with the most common claiming that the word is an acronym for one of either westernized, worthy, wily, or wonderful preceding “Oriental gentlemen”. Another erroneous claim is that it was used in the mid 1800s, with WOGS (meaning Working On Government Service) stencilled on the shirts of Indian workers in Egypt. The Scientologist sense is from the usage of L. Ron Hubbard, who apparently accepted the folk etymology from “worthy Oriental gentleman” but employed the term to mean “common ordinary run-of-the-mill garden-variety humanoid”.
Clipping of polliwog (“a tadpole”).
Unknown. Probably from Etymology 2, a clipping of polliwog (“a tadpole”).
See also for "wog"
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