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English
Etymology
From Hindustani �़�ल� / URchar|��� (qulī), which means "hired laborer" or "slave" < Turk. köle. Other forms occur in Bengali kuli and Tamil kuli, "daily hire." The Chinese word ��, Pinyin: k�lì, was originally a transcription of the Hindi, and literally means "bitterly hard (use of) strength".
Pronunciation
Rhymes: Rhymes:English:-u�li|-u�li
Noun
en-noun|sg=coolie (or cooly)|coolies
- An unskilled Asian worker, usually of Chinese or Indian descent; a labourer; a porter. Coolies were frequently transported to other countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries as indentured labourers.
- In Trinidad, West Indies, Guyana, and parts of Africa slang for a person of Indian descent. Nowadays often considered derogatory.
Translations
Chinese: ��
Hindi: �़�ल� (qulī) m
mid
Turkish: köle
Urdu: URchar|��� (qulī) m
References
Yule, Henry and Burnell, A. C. (1886): Hobson-Jobson The Anglo-Indian Dictionary. Reprint: Ware, Hertfordshire. Wordsworth Editions Limited. 1996.
Le grand dictionnaire Ricci de la langue chinoise, (2001), Vol. III, p. 833.
Category:Hindi derivations
Category:Urdu derivations
Category:Chinese derivations
fr:coolie
hu:coolie
pl:coolie
ru:coolie
fi:coolie
vi:coolie
zh:coolie
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