Coolie

Pronunciation: /kuːli/

Definitions of coolie

noun a person who does menial work; a drudge

Example Sentences

A1 The coolie helped carry the heavy luggage at the train station.

A2 The coolie worked hard to load and unload cargo from the ship.

B1 The coolie was grateful for the opportunity to earn a living through manual labor.

B2 The coolie's strong work ethic and dedication impressed his employers.

C1 The coolie's resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity were admirable.

C2 The coolie's contributions to the development of the city were significant and often overlooked.

Examples of coolie in a Sentence

formal The coolie worked diligently at the train station, loading and unloading cargo.

informal I saw a coolie carrying heavy bags at the market.

slang Hey, can you help me move this furniture? I need a coolie for the job.

figurative In today's society, many people are still treated like coolies, doing hard labor for little pay.

Grammatical Forms of coolie

• past tense: coolied
• plural: coolies
• comparative: cooler
• superlative: coolest
• present tense: coolie
• future tense: will coolie
• perfect tense: have coolied
• continuous tense: is coolieing
• singular: coolie
• positive degree: coolie
• infinitive: to coolie
• gerund: coolieing
• participle: coolied

Origin and Evolution of coolie

First Known Use: 1590 year

Language of Origin: Tamil

Story behind the word: The word 'coolie' originated from the Tamil word 'kuli', which means wages or hire.

Evolution of the word: Originally used to refer to laborers from India and China who were hired for low wages to perform manual labor, the term 'coolie' later took on negative connotations due to its association with exploitation and indentured labor. In modern times, the word is considered offensive and derogatory, and its usage is discouraged.