Coolie
WordNet
noun
(1) An offensive name for an unskilled Asian laborer
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From Hindustani क़ुली / (qulī), which means "hired laborer" or "slave" < köle. Other forms occur in Bengali kuli and Tamil kuli, "daily hire." The Chinese word 苦力, Pinyin: kǔlì, was originally a transcription of the Hindi, and literally means "bitterly hard (use of) strength".
Noun
- 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.
- In Trinidad, West Indies, Guyana, and parts of Africa slang for a person of Indian descent. Nowadays often considered derogatory.