chink
Sign in to savethumb|A racist postcard by Fred C. Lounsbury, promoting the idea of the Yellow Peril (1907)|alt=An angry caricatured Chinese male face with spiny facial hair and a snake-like tail. Beneath is a five-line poem which begins, "He's a Yellow Peril Chink of surprising versatility."
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Postcard-Yellow-Peril-Chink-by-Fred-Lounsbury-1907.png
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Chink
- time of earliest written record
- 1880-00-00
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- Worldwide usage
- Australia
- India
- United Kingdom
- United States
- See also
- References
- Sources
thumb|A racist postcard by Fred C. Lounsbury, promoting the idea of the Yellow Peril (1907)|alt=An angry caricatured Chinese male face with spiny facial hair and a snake-like tail. Beneath is a five-line poem which begins, "He's a Yellow Peril Chink of surprising versatility."
Chink may be used as a English-language ethnic slur usually referring to a person of Chinese descent, but also used to insult people with East Asian features. However, "chink" is also a legitimate English noun according to Merriam-Webster describing: (1) a small cleft, slit, or fissure; (2) a weak spot that may leave one vulnerable; or (3) a narrow beam of light shining through a chink. It is also used as a verb where "chinking" describes caulking cracks and slits in construction work as building log houses.