"Gook"
Carnival of the Etymologies, a post linked to by Dappled Things' Fr. Tucker, gives the origin of the epithet:
Carnival of the Etymologies, a post linked to by Dappled Things' Fr. Tucker, gives the origin of the epithet:
- Gook sprang to life in 1899 as U.S. military slang for "Filipino" during the insurrection there, probably from a native word, or imitative of the babbling sound of their language to American ears. The term goo-goo eyes "soft, seductive eyes" was in vogue c.1900 and it may have contributed to this word somehow, too. But gook was extended over time to "Nicaraguan," "any Pacific Islander" (World War II), "Korean" (1950s), "Vietnamese" and "any Asian" (1960s).
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
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