# Derogitory terms that became the actual names for things **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 28, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136 "2015-08-28T03:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/41 "2015-08-28T19:32:54Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > [Thagomizer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thagomizer) Cool beans! I remember the Far Side cartoon well, but had no idea it had actually become the scientific name for the spikes on a Stegosaurus’ tail. Until now, that is. Thanks for sharing! ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/42 "2015-08-28T19:41:47Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Black hole. Reference? I googled it but could not find out where the name came from or whether it was originally derogatory or derisory. What about Shakers? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/43 "2015-08-28T21:05:54Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > What about Shakers? Post 5 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/44 "2015-08-28T21:07:29Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Geek. Probably originally used to describe circus side-show acts in a derogitory way. As I recall reading it, the “geek” was the lowest of the low, the slime at the bottom of the barrel, the very nadir in the social hierarchy in the carny culture. He was the guy who would do any disgusting thing to entertain the masses. He was the guy who swallowed live goldfish and frogs. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/45 "2015-08-28T21:33:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > English or American? The ones I know are East Anglian, I’m curious if there’s a regional difference. I grew up in the U.S. (In Arkansas, actually, so it’s not like I had a huge sample size!) but my mother is Scottish, and she and my grandmother both say Quaker. I’also briefly attended a Quaker meetinghouse in Washington, D.C., and I’ve met people from various parts of the U.S. who identify as Quaker, though that might be partly for convenience, since the term _Friend_ isn’t widely known among most people. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/46 "2015-08-29T00:04:37Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Was Black (in the context of race), at one time, considered derogatory? I know the inverse was true - Negro used to be a respectable term, but isn’t now. Which is ridiculous, since negro is literally the word black in other languages. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/47 "2015-08-29T00:44:45Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Which is ridiculous, since negro is literally the word black in other languages. There’s a difference between a word’s origin and its meaning (denotative or connotative). “Nigger” is just a corruption of “negro,” which as you point out simply means “black,” yet it’s a terribly offensive word. To me, “negro” is very old-fashioned. I suppose some people could take it as offensive because it seems like an attempt to roll back the clock (or calendar). ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/48 "2015-08-29T00:56:46Z")
I think these may fit: Cop Canuck mmm ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/49 "2015-08-29T04:15:40Z")
Beatnik Hippie ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/50 "2015-08-29T06:06:25Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Geek. Probably originally used to describe circus side-show acts in a derogitory way. Later as I remember in the 70s was a negative term for small scrawny nerdy types that got picked on a lot (as in the song “Pencil Neck Geek”). > Then in the 90s with the boom in home computers it became associated with those with knowledge of them (computer geek, founding of the geek squad). > Now days it’s used to describe anyone who is really into their hobby (car geek, history geek, sports geek). “Nerd” fits as well, then. As probably does “queer.” All three of these are still sometimes used derogatorily, but they have been reclaimed. > [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > To me, “negro” is very old-fashioned. I suppose some people could take it as offensive because it seems like an attempt to roll back the clock (or calendar). And because it sounds a lot like the other word. If it were still used, this wouldn’t be a problem. But, since it isn’t, it usually comes as getting as close as you can without actually saying “nigger.” (I say usually because it could be great-grandma who is using old words because she doesn’t get it.) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/51 "2015-08-29T15:11:57Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Quakers I know don’t call themselves that. They just call themselves Friends. Sure we do. 🙂 Ko, Quaker, born and raised ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/52 "2015-08-29T16:12:52Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Black hole > > Reference? I googled it but could not find out where the name came from or whether it was originally derogatory or derisory. Well, crap. That was one I just ‘knew’ so well I didn’t even have to check. Guess I’m wrong, though. How about paddy wagon? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/53 "2015-08-29T19:01:15Z")
_ **Mob** _, for the great mass of people or that subsection thereof that runs about in full democracy mode. Originally an insult by disdainful aristocrats or political thinkers, from latin: _mobile vulgus_, now just describes ordinary people in a group. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/54 "2015-08-29T19:13:58Z")
Whig Tory _both of them originally insults coined by their opponents_ Baroque ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/55 "2015-08-29T19:40:12Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > 1. Big Bang Hoyle denied that it was meant to be derogatory, but he wasn’t a fan of the theory othewise. > [@Derleth](#): > > Comanche (from the Ute word for “enemy”) (their endonym is Nʉmʉnʉʉ, but only a vanishingly small number of modern Comanche still speak that language) > > Eskimo probably comes from a Montagnais word meaning “snowshoe-netter”, and is not especially derogatory. It is a massive insult in Canada, however, but not in America, and it is commonly self-applied in Alaska. Anasazi is also “ancestors of our enemies” in Navajo. The preferred term is “Ancestral Puebloans” but they’re not around to complain. Navajo isn’t even the preferred name for themselves, and is sometimes considered derogatory, but it looks like that might be false etymology? Tuareg is also, according to some sources, derogatory. They normally use variations on Kel Tamasheq or Imushagh. > [@koeeoaddi](#): > > Sure we do. 🙂 > > Ko, > Quaker, born and raised It’s not the official name like Methodist is though, is it? Maybe more akin to Mormon. Their official name is Latter-Day Saints, but many people would be 😕 if you said you were a Friend or LDS, so the other term is commonly used. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/56 "2015-08-29T20:07:47Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > As I recall reading it, the “geek” was the lowest of the low, the slime at the bottom of the barrel, the very nadir in the social hierarchy in the carny culture. He was the guy who would do any disgusting thing to entertain the masses. He was the guy who swallowed live goldfish and frogs. The classic [“geek show”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek_show) was a guy biting the heads off live chickens. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/57 "2015-08-30T02:43:10Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > It’s not the official name like Methodist is though, is it? Maybe more akin to Mormon. Their official name is Latter-Day Saints, but many people would be 😕 if you said you were a Friend or LDS, so the other term is commonly used. The official name is Society of Friends. Where I grew up (Philadelphia area) Quaker Meeting and Friend’s Meeting are used interchangeably, but when talking about themselves, most people I know call themselves Quakers. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/58 "2015-08-30T08:45:17Z")
Like I said, the only Friends I know live in East Anglia, maybe it’s different for them. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/59 "2015-08-30T11:00:23Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Comanche (from the Ute word for “enemy”) (their endonym is Nʉmʉnʉʉ, but only a vanishingly small number of modern Comanche still speak that language) > > Eskimo probably comes from a Montagnais word meaning “snowshoe-netter”, and is not especially derogatory. It is a massive insult in Canada, however, but not in America, and it is commonly self-applied in Alaska. I was under the impression (from reading a lot about native Americans when I was a little kid) that most “tribe” names as we know them means “enemy”, “snakes”, “weird looking people” and so forth, because usually their neighbors got to name them for the whites. But I may be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136/60 "2015-08-30T14:00:50Z")
There are so many exonyms for various peoples that are derogatory in origin that there is little point trying to list them all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/derogitory-terms-that-became-the-actual-names-for-things/729136.md?page=4)