char ou, noun

/ˈtʃɑːrəʊ/
Forms:
chaar ou, charoShow more Also chaar ou, charo, charro.
Origin:
Etymology dubious: probably a blend of atjar and ou, see Green quotation 1983; cf. charra.
In the South African Indian community: a person of Indian descent; Indian noun sense 2 a. Occasionally used derogatorily: charra. See also ou noun sense 2 b, roti ou (roti sense 2).
1978 [see roti sense 2].
1978 A. Akhalwaya in Rand Daily Mail 10 July 7Our main ou, who is also a ‘chaar ou’ (Indian), has friends of all races.
1980 R. Govender Lahnee’s Pleasure 38Char ous were working there for years — longer than some of the wit ous, but they weren’t earning more than even the lightie wit ous.
1982 Daily News 15 June 1At the end of the meeting..Mr — clashed once again with the mayor after he had referred to Indian people as ‘charos’.
c1983 R. Mesthrie Lexicon of South African Indian English. 75Char-ou,..An Indian. Not usually derogatory, except perhaps when used by some Whites. Often jocular in SAI[ndian]E[nglish].
1983 M. Green Informant, Durban, KwaZulu-NatalA member of the Indian community has given me an interesting explanation of ‘charra’. He says the word originated from the fact that spiced pickles became very popular with South African whites. These were sold mainly by Indian storekeepers and the word (which is Hindi) for them was ‘achaar’. White parents would send their children to the ‘chaar ou’ (‘ou’ being Afrikaans for person) to buy spiced pickles and the term chaar ou, shortened to charra, eventually came to be applied to all Indians and later took on its present derogatory implication.
1986 L.A. Barnes in Eng. Usage in Sn Afr. Vol.17 No.2, 4Different ethnic groups are referred to by terms such as char ou’s, ‘Indians’, gora, ‘White man’, and roti ou ‘Hindi speaking person’.
1993 W. Junge Informant, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-NatalShe said to me, ‘Could you identify this man?’ and I said, ‘Yes, he was a charro, a coolie.’
a person of Indian descent; Indian noun sense 2 a. Occasionally used derogatorily: charra.
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Chariguriqua, plural nounpl. n.charra, nounn.
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