Other Definitions
wog (dict)
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WogWog is a word with several meanings, one commonly derogatory, the others not. Wog as a racial reference British racial term originating in the colonial period of the British Empire. It was generally used as a label for the natives of India, northern Africa and the Middle East. By the 1950's it had become a pejorative term used in order to offend and is now rarely used. The origins of the term are unclear. Many dictionaries propose that it comes from the term golliwog (or golliwogg), a blackfaced doll with tangled hair introduced by Florence Upton in her book The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls, in which a black doll named Golliwog is featured. Others have suggested that it originated from acronyms for "Worthy Oriental Gentleman" or variants thereof. It is also rumoured to be an acronym for "Workers of Government" which was used to describe early immigrants into England. Those explanations, like other attempts to find the origin of words such as "cop" or "tip" in their supposed etymologies, are probably mistaken. The use of the word is very much discouraged in Britain these days and most dictionaries refer to the word with the justified caution that it is slang and derogatory. James Robertson & Sons, a British manufacturer of jams and preserves, discontinued using the Golliwog as its trademark in the early 1990s for similar reasons. If shouted at someone in the street the usage is derogatory. Therefore, it would be unwise to use it in modern Britain without expecting an extreme reaction. The phrase "The wogs start at Calais" is commonly used to characterise a stodgy Europhobic viewpoint, and more generally the view that Britain is inherently separate from (and superior to) the Continent. In this case, "wog" describes any person of foreign, un-British character. Wog as a racial reference in Australian English Wog is also a derogatory slang term in Australian English, directed against people of Southern European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern ancestry, specifically Italians and Greeks, but also those of Spanish, Croatian (or Bosnian or Serbian), Portuguese, Maltese, Arab, Turkish and Irani descent. It also often includes Latin Americans grouped together with those of Spanish ancestry. It occasionally extends to people from other parts of Europe or the Levant. Migrants from the Netherlands sometimes refer to themselves as clog wogs. This meaning came into use in the 1950s when Australia accepted large numbers of immigrants from Southern Europe. Some contemporary Australian comedians of Italian and Greek cultures have attempted to reclaim the use of the word, and the term does not remain heavily loaded in Australian culture. Wog meaning an illness in Australian English Wog is also used in Australia (less so these days) to mean a minor illness, so slang for a cold or the flu. Once the racial meaning became prevalent this lead the way open for bad jokes along the lines of Yesterday I was in bed with a wog punning on the previous meaning. The derogatory nature of the term when used as a racial taunt succeeded in driving out use of the term wog to describe illness. Users of the term risked being labeled a racist by people not realising the context in which it was being used. Wog as a Scientology term Scientologists also use the term "wog" to describe an individual who is a non-Scientologist. Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard employed the term in his lectures and writings. Wog in maritime use Wog is a shortened version of the word polliwog, used for sailors during the crossing the line ceremony, on the first time they cross the equator. This use is entirely non-derogatory and is not limited to British English. See also External links *Etymological Tools
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