''Spic'' (also spelled ''spick'') is an
ethnic slur used in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
for people from Latin American countries and states.
Etymology
Some sources from the United States believe that the word ''spic'' is a play on a Spanish-accented pronunciation of the English word ''speak''.
[ Interactive Dictionary of Language. Accessed April 12, 2007.][ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Accessed April 12, 2007.][Santiago, Esmeralda. When I Was Puerto Rican. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.] The ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'' takes ''spic'' to be a contraction of the earlier form ''spiggoty''. The oldest known use of ''spiggoty'' is in 1910 by Wilbur Lawton in ''Boy Aviators in Nicaragua, or, In League with the Insurgents''. Stuart Berg Flexner, in ''I Hear America Talking'' (1976), favored the explanation that it derives from "no spik Ingles" (or "no spika de Ingles").
[Take Our Word for It](_blank)
June 21, 1999, Issue 45 of etymology webzine.
However, in an earlier publication, the 1960 ''Dictionary of American Slang'', written by Dr. Harold Wentworth, with Flexner as second author, ''spic'' is first identified as a noun for an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
or "
American of Italian ancestry", along with the words spic'', ''spig'', and ''spiggoty'', and confirms that it is shortened from the word ''
spaghetti
Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.[spaghetti](_blank)
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridg ...
''. The authors refer to the word's usage in James M. Cain's ''Mildred Pierce'', referring to a "wop or spig", and note that this term was never preferred over ''
wop'', and has been rarely used since 1915. However, the etymology remains.
[Wentworth, Harold, and Flexner, Stuart Berg. The Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1960, pp. 507.]
See also
*
Anti-Hispanic racism in the United States
Racism in the United States comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in the United States, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and ...
*
Spic and Span
Spic and Span is a brand of all-purpose household cleaner marketed by KIK Custom Products Inc. for home consumer use and by Procter & Gamble for professional (non-home-consumer) use.
History
On June 15, 1926, Whistle Bottling Company of Johnson ...
References
External links
{{Ethnic slurs
Ethnic and religious slurs
Hispanic and Latino American people
Italian-American history
Hispanophobia
English profanity