red woman
- noun
- Slur
:
[término ofensivo para mujer nativa americana]
- She referred to her as a red woman in a mocking tone.
Examples
-
Some historical documents refer to a Native American woman as a red woman, reflecting prejudiced attitudes of the past.
-
Using a term like red woman is disrespectful and should be avoided in modern conversation.
-
The book contained outdated language, including the term red woman, which is now considered highly offensive.
-
That term is a derogatory red woman.
-
The book contained outdated language, including the term red woman, which is now considered highly offensive.
-
Using a term like red woman is disrespectful and should be avoided in modern conversation.
-
Some historical documents refer to a Native American woman as a red woman, reflecting prejudiced attitudes of the past.
Synonyms
1
5.9
A woman who belongs to a traditional local community
Surface Forms
Morphology
red + woman
The derogatory sense 'an insulting term for a female Native American' is not derivable from the literal meanings of 'red' (a color) and 'woman' (an adult female); a B1 learner knowing the constituents would most likely interpret it as describing color or clothing. The offensive, culturally specific usage is idiomatic and requires historical/pragmatic knowledge beyond the words themselves, so it is not predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Red woman may come from early settlers who called Native American people 'red' because of skin color and then put red and woman together as a simple label. That literal, crude image became an insulting name, so the phrase is now 'offensive' and should not be used.