Paki

From Fresh Dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Proper noun 1.3 Proper adjective 1.3.1 Usage notes

English

Etymology

Shortened from Pakistani

Proper noun

Paki (plural Pakis)

1. (derogatory, offensive and racist) A Pakistani, or, more generally, a person of who is perceived to be a Pakistani; often applied to persons of any South Asian or Middle Eastern origin - or indeed any immigrant.

Proper adjective

Paki (no comparative or superlative)

1. (derogatory, offensive and racist when spoken by non-Pakistanis) Pakistani, or perceived to be Pakistani.

Usage notes

Although deriving from the word Pakistan, which was created in 1947, Paki became offensive during the 1960s when used by British tabloids to refer to immigrants in a derogotary and racist manner. In recent times there has been a trend by second- and third-generation British Pakistanis to reclaim the word, such as in the name of the clothing company PAK1 or the website paki.tv

The racism often functions on a subconscious level and unfortunately, awareness of the racist connotations may be confined only to the UK. In Australia, a country with notoriously racist immigration laws (see Wikipedia:White Australia policy), the Pakistani cricket team are commonly referred to as the Pakis, just as the West Indians are known as the Windies.