DAGO

wop, dago, ginzo, Guinea, greaseball

(noun) (ethnic slur) offensive term for a person of Italian descent

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

dago (plural dagoes or dagos)

(UK, slang, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or other Mediterranean descent.

(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 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 with no apparent pejorative connotation.

• Usually a sailor or deckhand. "Diego" is the Portuguese nickname for any deckhand and "jack" is the British equivalent.

• The Hill in St. Louis, an Italian-American enclave, is often referred to colloquially as "Dago Hill."

Anagrams

• Goad, Goda, doga, goad

Source: Wiktionary


Da"go, n.; pl. Dagos. Etym: [Cf. Sp. Diego, E. James.]

Definition: A nickname given to a person of Spanish (or, by extension, Portuguese or Italian) descent. [U. S.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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