Coolie
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The word coolie (also kuli, cooli, cooly, quli and koelie among other spellings), meaning a labourer, has a variety of other implications and is sometimes regarded as offensive or a pejorative, depending upon the historical and geographical context. It is similar, in many respects, to the Spanish term peon, although both terms are used in some countries, with slightly differing implications.
During the 19th and early 20th century, coolie was usually a term implying an indentured labourer from South Asia, South East Asia or China.
It is now a commonly-used and inoffensive word in South Asia for workers in unskilled manual labour, especially porters at railway stations.
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