redskin
/ˈɹɛdˌskɪn/ noun
Forms redskins
- noun (ethnic slur, offensive) A Native American.
- noun (anarchism, communism) An anticapitalist skinhead. “The Red & Anarchist Skinheads, a left‐wing splinter of the SHARP group, formed in 1993. It grew out of influences from the redskin culture in England.”
Synonyms
Etymology
References to indigenous Americans' skin being red can be found from the 1580s, although not consistently (another European in 1584 described indigenous Americans as "yellowish"); in some cases the reference may be not to their skin color per se but to their painting themselves with red paint. A letter ostensibly from 1699, which was formerly cited as the earliest reference to "red skins", was not published until 1900 and is now recognized as fake.
The earliest documented instance of the term "redskin" is from a 1769 discussion between the Piankeshaw and John Wilkins, this and other early uses appear to be translating terms meaning red + skin, flesh, or people that the tribes of the Illinois / Mississippi Valley area used to refer to themselves when communicating with the French (who translated such terms as French peau-rouge) and with English-speakers (whence redskin).
Piecewise doublet of Rauðskinna.
From red + skin, from skinhead.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “redskin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details