| Definitions | | coolie |
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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.
Etymology: From Hindustani ààààà / (URchar, ÙÙÛ) (qulÄ), which means "hired laborer" or "slave" < (Turk.) kíle. Other forms occur in Bengali kuli and Tamil kuli, "daily hire." The Chinese word èå, Pinyin: klí, was originally a transcription of the Hindi, and literally means "bitterly hard (use of) strength".
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Full Definition of coolie
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