I overheard some of my neighbors arguing...at the end one neighbor yelled "you freakin' wop" okay, the tone made me assume it was deragotory...but what is it....the neighbor called wop was old italian I think???
2006-07-23 21:13:13 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
well, if it is deragatory towards italian, maybe someone could explain why..where did the term come from?
2006-07-23 21:19:02 · update #1
Ask an Italian.
2006-07-23 21:16:56 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a derogatory term implying an illegal status. it stands for 'With out papers'. it came about in the early 1900's when there was a large influx of recent Italian immigrants. Today's version would pretty much be calling a Mexican immigrant a 'wet back'. Same thing. WOP is one of those things that one Italian can get way w/ saying to another though. Its' lost a lot of the sting over the past 100 years now that most of the Italian Americans are 3-4 generation Americans.
2006-07-23 21:24:49 · answer #2 · answered by rummy714 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A derogatory term for Italians, used predominantly by Americans. But the explanation of "without papers" does not hold up to historical scrutiny. The origins seem to be based upon a mis-pronounciation of "los guapos", a term used for Italian migrant workers in Spain prior to the Spanish-American war, when Americans were introduced to the term. But it seems to have resulted from Spanish jealousy for the success that the Italians were having with Spanish ladies.
Pls refer to the back-end of the attached reference.
2006-07-23 21:25:31 · answer #3 · answered by hellbent 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Wop" is a derogatory term for Italian. it's from when there were a lot of illegal Italian immigrants coming through Ellis Island With Out Papers (like passports and stuff). From this u get "WOP", from the first letter of each word. it's like ******* for Mexicans. it's saying that your an illegal immigrant.
2006-07-23 21:19:53 · answer #4 · answered by bahamadude91 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's racist against italians. It means With Out Papers because during the time when many italians immigrated to North America they were seen as outcasts trying to fit in and illegal. Your neighber that was called a wop is probally pretty phissed.
2006-07-24 07:27:03 · answer #5 · answered by s m 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have read that it came about during the turn-of-the- century when most of the Italians that came to the United States were poor and "with out papers" or "with out passports." The officials who received them on Ellis Island gave them that acronym. It evolved into a derogatory term for Italians.
2006-07-23 21:31:42 · answer #6 · answered by jacquiethebibliophile 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Was a common term for Italians, I believe it deirives from a stamp put on immigration forms that meant "WIth Out Papers", at the time of mostly Italian immigration.
2006-07-23 21:17:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The term wop is a derogatory term used to describe those of Italian descent. It is in the same league as "****" or "paki", etc.
2006-07-23 21:18:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
---Babylon English-English---
wop
n. offensive term for an Italian person
---Oxford English Dictionary---
wop
â noun informal, offensive an Italian or other southern European.
early 20th cent. (orig. US): origin uncertain, perh. from Ital. guappo 'bold, showy'.
2006-07-23 21:22:51 · answer #9 · answered by anni_shaa Yeap Yip 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋