coolie

Definitions


[ˈkuːli], (Noun)

Definitions:
- an unskilled labourer in India, China, and some other Asian countries, especially one employed by Europeans

- a person employed to carry luggage and other loads; a porter
(e.g: the woman's husband is a coolie by profession)


Phrases:

Origin:
early 17th century: probably from Koli ‘member of a people of western India formerly associated with labouring work’, probably after Portuguese cule ‘hired labourer’, perhaps influenced by Tamil kūli ‘hire, payment for work’




definition by Oxford Dictionaries