(wĕt'băk') pronunciation
n. Offensive Slang
Used as a disparaging term for a Mexican, especially a laborer who crosses the U.S. border illegally.

[From the fact that the Rio Grande is a common entry point.]


wetback

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noun
noun, US

An illegal immigrant from Mexico to the US; hence, any illegal immigrant. (1929 —) .

[From the practice of swimming the Rio Grande to reach the US.]


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"Wetback" is a derogatory term used in the United States for a person of foreign nationality, historically a Mexican citizen, who is an illegal immigrant in the U.S.[1]

Generally used as an ethnic slur,[2] the term was originally coined and applied only to Mexicans who entered Texas by crossing the Rio Grande river, which is located at the Mexican border,[3] presumably by swimming or wading across and getting wet in the process. The non-offensive Spanish term is "mojado" which means "wet". It is often preferred by Mexican-Americans by blood or pure-blood Mexicans who have become U.S. Citizens, to be referred to as "Los Mojados" which translates to "the wet ones" or "wet people".

It also can be used as an adjective and a verb. As an adjective it pertains to illegal Mexican immigrants. It was first used in this way by John Steinbeck in Sweet Thursday as he wrote, "How did he get in the wet-back business?" Its usage as a verb was originally mentioned in 1978 in T. Sanchez's Hollywoodland, where the term meant, "to gain illegal entry into the United States by swimming the Rio Grande".[4]

The first mention of the term in The New York Times is dated June 20, 1920.[5] It was used officially by the US government in 1954, with Operation Wetback,[6] a project which was a mass deportation of illegal Mexican nationals. However, the term was in use in rural parts of the South a century prior to describe escaped African-American slaves by their "wet backs" from swimming to freedom.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wetback". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
  2. ^ Hughes, Geoffrey. "An Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and Ethnic Slurs in the English-speaking World". Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2006.
  3. ^ "Rio Grande Wetbacks: Mexican Migrant Workers". Education Resources Information Center. http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED071800&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED071800. Retrieved September 12, 2008. 
  4. ^ Green, Jonathon. "Green's Dictionary of Slang". Edinburgh: Chambers, 2010.
  5. ^ Gerald B. Breitigam (June 20, 1920). "Welcomed Mexican Invasion --- Thousands of Families Crossing the Border to Till the Soil and Otherwise Build Up the Southwest". The New York Times: p. XX6. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0DE7DE153AEE32A25753C2A9609C946195D6CF. 
  6. ^ "Wetback". Interactive Dictionary of Racial Language. http://kpearson.faculty.tcnj.edu/Dictionary/wetback.htm. Retrieved April 20, 2007. 

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - grænseoverløber fra Mexico

Nederlands (Dutch)
illegale Mexicaanse immigrant in de US

Français (French)
n. - (US) travailleur mexicain entré illégalement aux États-Unis (injur)

Deutsch (German)
n. - illegaler mexikanischer Einwanderer

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ΗΠΑ, καθομ.) παράνομος Μεξικανός μετανάστης

Italiano (Italian)
emigrante illegale messicano

Português (Portuguese)
n. - usado para um mexicano (m), especialmente que cruza a fronteira ilegalmente

Русский (Russian)
нелегальный иммигрант из Мексики

Español (Spanish)
n. - inmigrante mejicano ilegal, bracero

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - illegal mexikansk invandrare (sl.)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
非法墨西哥工人

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 非法墨西哥工人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 미국에 밀입국하는 멕시코인

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 米国に不法入国するメキシコ人

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المكسيكي الذي يتسلل إلى الولايات المتحدة‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮גונב הגבול בין מכסיקו לארה"ב‬


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Mentioned in

Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary (2004 Culture & Society Film)
Un Mojado Sin Licencia (1993 Album by Flaco Jiménez)
Larry Lansburgh (Director, Cinematographer, Children's/Family/Adventure)