Dago slang (orig. U.S.).
(ˈdeɪgəʊ)
Also dago
[Supposed to be a corruption of Diego a Spanish equivalent of James: applied as a generic proper name to Spaniards.]
1. A name originally given in the south-western section of the United States to a man of Spanish parentage; now extended to include Spaniards, Portuguese, and Italians in general, or as a disparaging term for any foreigner. Also attrib.
| [1723 Bumstead in New England Hist. & Gen. Reg. (1861) XV. 199 The negro Dago hanged for fiering Mr Powell's house.] 1832 E. C. Wines Two Years in Navy (1833) I. vi. 145 These Dagos [of Minorca], as they are pleasantly called by our people, were always a great pest. 1858 Knickerbocker Jan. 7 And so, Bill, you served as a ingineer with these ere blamed dagos, you say. 1882 W. A. Baillie-Grohman Camps in Rockies 372, I waited until a lot of Dago emigrants passed. 1888 American 18 July (Farmer), The shrimps..are caught by Dagos. 1890 N.Y. Nation (25 Sept.) LI. 237/1 Mr. Reed makes no effort to conceal his contempt for this proposition to trade with a lot of ‘Dagoes’, as he calls them. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 11 Dec. 3/2 Whilst licensed pilots take to drink, And Dago crews to prayer. 1902 [see chin n.1 1 e]. 1904 T. Roosevelt Let. 2 Sept. in H. F. Pringle T. Roosevelt (1931) 294 It will show these Dagos that they will have to behave decently. 1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay iii. iv. 406 'E's a foreigner... That's what E is—a Dago! 1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xxiv. 212 ‘Afghan’ in the West is about as wide as ‘Dago’ on the coast. 1932 [see adjectival a. b]. 1934 N. Marsh Man lay Dead iii. 51 ‘Such indiscretion has doubtless been suitably chastised,’ remarked the Russian... Charles Rankin..slipped his arm through Nigel's. ‘Not a very delicious gentleman, that dago,’ he said loudly. 1940 N. Mitford Pigeon Pie iii. 41 There are Chinks and Japs and Fuzzy Wuzzies and Ice Creamers and Dagos, and so on. 1968 Listener 19 Dec. 819/2 England should have won. All that stopped us was that the dagos [sc. Paraguayans] got more goals than us. |
2. The Spanish or Italian language.
| 1900 Dialect Notes II. 31 Dago, the Italian language. 1901 ‘H. McHugh’ John Henry 32 She said she was svelte. I suppose that's Dago for a shine. 1923 M. Watts Luther Nichols 119 They were eternally being enjoined to say it in French, say it in German, say it in dago! |
3. dago red, cheap red wine, esp. Italian. U.S.
| 1906 Aitken & Hilton Hist. Earthquake San Francisco vi. 120 Casks of wine (real ‘Dago red’). 1910 E. A. Walcott Open Door xii. 146 You know I'm..pleased when the meal can be washed down only with diluted ‘dago red’. 1963 Freedomways III. iii. 410 Bad niggers stopped their drinking Dago red. 1966 J. dos Passos Best Times iii. 83 As we poured down the dago red he would become mischievous. |