Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

coolie

 - 4 dictionary results
$0.29 Custom Koozies
Factory Direct - No Setup Fees. No One Beats Our Prices!
www.DiscountKoozies.com
Koozie Cups
100s of Koozie Cups Top Brands at Low Prices
www.Gifts.com
Koozie Cups
Buy Koozie Cups up to 50% cheaper on best-price.com
www.best-price.com/Koozie+Cups

coo⋅lie

  [koo-lee]
Use coolie in a Sentence
–noun Offensive.
1. an unskilled laborer, esp. formerly in China and India.
2. an unskilled laborer employed cheaply, esp. one brought from Asia.
–adjective
3. Informal. characteristic of or suitable for a coolie: working for coolie wages.
Also, cooly.

Origin:
1545–55; < Urdu kūlī < Tamil kūli hire, hireling
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To coolie
$0.29 Custom Koozies
Factory Direct - No Setup Fees. No One Beats Our Prices!
www.DiscountKoozies.com
Koozie Cups
100s of Koozie Cups Top Brands at Low Prices
www.Gifts.com
coo·lie also coo·ly   (kōō'lē)   
n.   pl. coo·lies Offensive
An unskilled Asian laborer.

[Hindi qulī, laborer, perhaps ultimately from Kulī, a tribe in Gujarat.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

coolie 
1598, "name given by Europeans to hired laborers in India and China," from Hindi quli "hired servant," probably from kuli, name of an aboriginal tribe or caste in Gujarat. The name was picked up by the Portuguese, who used it in southern India (where by coincidence kuli in Tamil meant "hire") and in China.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

coolie

(from Hindi Kuli, an aboriginal tribal name, or from Tamil kuli, "wages"), in usually pejorative European usage, an unskilled labourer or porter usually in or from the Far East hired for low or subsistence wages

Learn more about coolie with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see coolie on Thesaurus | Reference
Koozie Cups
Buy Koozie Cups up to 50% cheaper on best-price.com
www.best-price.com/Koozie+Cups
Koozie Cups - On Sale Now
110% Lowest Price Guarantee, Order Your Can Koozy Covers Today!
www.OrientalTrading.com
Koozie Cups
90,000+ Cups at Great Prices. Shop, Compare and Save at Pronto.
Cup.Pronto.com
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way