A derogatory slur used to demean people of Italian or Mediterranean descent; widely considered offensive and inappropriate.
Uncertain origin, possibly from Italian 'guappo' (a swaggering person) or as an acronym 'without papers.' First documented in American English in the early 1900s during waves of Italian immigration. Evolved solely as a pejorative term.
This word captures how immigrant communities have historically been targeted with insulting language; understanding its origins helps explain how prejudice embeds itself in language and why such terms remain harmful regardless of their murky etymological roots.
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