redskin
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English
[edit]
Etymology 1
[edit]From red + skin. References to indigenous Americans' skin being red can be found from the 1580s,[1] and ambiguous (disputed) instances of the term redskin or red skin exist from the 1690s,[1][2] perhaps as straightforward references to that, or perhaps in reference to tribes such as the Beothuk painting themselves with red paint.[2] However, the earliest unambiguous instances of the term are from the 1760s, apparently translating (via French peau-rouge) a native term from a tribe of the Mississippi Valley.[3][4] Doublet of Rauðskinna
Alternative forms
[edit]Noun
[edit]redskin (plural redskins)
- (now sometimes considered an ethnic slur and offensive) A Native American.
- 1699?, Henry Smith or Samuel Smith or a relative, possibly quoting another colonist, in a letter quoted by a descendant (which, however, Ives Goddard argues is fake):
- Ye first Meeting House was solid mayde to withstande ye wicked onsaults of the Red Skins.
- 1699?, Henry Smith or Samuel Smith or a relative, possibly quoting another colonist, in a letter quoted by a descendant (which, however, Ives Goddard argues is fake):
Usage notes
[edit]Previously used neutrally, the word began to be used as a term of contempt in the late 1800s; it is now often considered offensive.
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]an American Indian
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “redskin”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “redskin”, in Collins English Dictionary.
- ^ “redskin”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- ^ “redskin”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading
[edit]- “redskin”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Etymology 2
[edit]Noun
[edit]redskin (plural redskins)
- (anarchism, communism) An anticapitalist skinhead.
- The Red & Anarchist Skinheads, a left‐wing splinter of the SHARP group, formed in 1993. It grew out of influences from the redskin culture in England.