A highly offensive ethnic slur used to demean people, particularly those from Mediterranean or Middle Eastern backgrounds; considered extremely derogatory and outdated.
Origin uncertain; possibly from 'golliwog' (a doll character from Victorian times) or acronym theories like 'Western Oriental Gentleman,' though these are debated. It became a common insult in British English from the early 1900s onward.
This word is a linguistic tombstone—studying how it was used reveals how societies weaponize language to dehumanize groups. Dictionaries include it only for historical documentation and to show how language reflects and enforces social prejudice across generations.
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