different between dago vs mediterraneanirish

English

Etymology

Alteration of diego (“Spaniard”), from Spanish Diego (common Spanish name) by law of Hobson-Jobson. See Mick and Jock for similar epithets.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?de????/
• Rhymes: -e????

Noun

dago (plural dagoes or dagos)

1. (Britain, slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or other Mediterranean descent.
   • 1933, George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, Chapter XXVIII, [1]

     And all foreigners to him were "dem bloody dagoes"—for, according to his theory, foreigners were responsible for unemployment.

2. (US, Australia, slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Italian descent.

   Synonyms: Eyetie, goombah, greaseball, guido, guinea, wog, wop

Usage notes

• The meaning behind the word is still highly offensive in the United States. It has become less pejorative among certain groups reclaiming the term in recent years, with people of Italian, Spanish, or Portuguese origin themselves adopting the term. In the Upper Midwest region of the United States, the term is used for several Italian-inspired food items.
• The term may have originated following British or American encounters with Portuguese and Spanish sailors. "Diego" is the Portuguese nickname for any deckhand. After transforming into "dago" in English and becoming a common term for Spanish and Portuguese people, the slur expanded in usage to then refer to Italians and Italian immigrants, another Mediterranean and Latin ethnic group.
• The Hill in St. Louis, an Italian-American enclave, is often referred to colloquially as "Dago Hill."

Derived terms

• dago dazzler
• dago red

Translations

Anagrams

• Goad, Goda, doga, goad

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /da.?o/

Verb

dago

1. Third-person singular (hura) present indicative form of egon.

Northern Sami

Noun

dag?

1. genitive singular of dahku