sammy, noun

Forms:
Frequently with initial capital; formerly also sami.
Origin:
Tamil, Sanskrit, Indian EnglishShow more Adaptation of Tamil suffix -samy (from Sanskrit swami master), in Indian English names such as Ramasamy and Munsamy.
offensive
1. An insulting and racist term of address or reference to an Indian man. Also attributive.
[1883 B. Mitford Through Zulu Country 52The picturesque dresses of the coolies lend colour to the variously clad throng of humanity,..of which the Indian element forms no small part, for ‘Ramsammy’ is quite an institution in Natal.]
1906 Indian Opinion 7 July 456The conductor roughly addressed him in the following terms: ‘Hurry up, Sammy.’ As may be supposed, the insult stung the complainant, Mr. Francis, into a retort that the conductor should not call him ‘Sammy’.
[1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 391Ramasammy, (A corruption of Ramaswami, ‘Lord Rama’). In Natal and the Cape this word is used as a generic name for Indian coolies.]
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 423Sammy, See Ramasammy, of which this is an abbreviation.
1927 M. Desai tr. of M.K. Gandhi’s Autobiog. 110‘Sami’ is a Tamil suffix occurring after many Tamil names, and is nothing else than the Sanskrit Swami, meaning a master. When..an Indian resented being addressed as a ‘sami’ and had enough wit in him, he would try to return the compliment in this wise: You may call me sami, but you forget that sami means a master.
1949 A. Keppel-Jones When Smuts Goes 18The good people of Johannesburg were told that..they would be jostled out of the parks and swimming-baths by ‘Jim’ and ‘Sammy’.
1972 J. McClure Caterpillar Cop (1974) 112‘Brandy and telephone directory, Sammy.’ The waiter’s name was not Sammy, but his race has been divided by the whites into Sammy units and Mary units to facilitate friendly relationships.
1973 E. Prov. Herald 22 Sept. B2Because ‘Mariamma’ was a common name among Indian women and ‘Munsamy’ among the men, they were referred to as ‘Marys and Sammies’. This was considered to be insulting.
2. transferred sense. An insulting generic name given to an Indian trader or hawker, particularly a vegetable-hawker.
1926 P.W. Laidler Tavern of Ocean 174The Malay fish-hawker..was disappearing, and now all the retail trade is in the hands of his fellow Moslem, the Indian, ‘Sammy’.
1949 J. Mockford Golden Land 179Sammy’s baskets balanced on the end of a bamboo pole, like the nests of a weaver bird, go bobbing along the streets and lanes of every township in Natal.
1953 P. Lanham Blanket Boy’s Moon 161That Indian tribe..the white man calls ‘Sammies’..whose members sell fruit and vegetables to the white women.
1980 Sunday Times 16 Nov. 35The man who sold us fruit was Sammy and the woman Mary.
1990 D. Child in Settler Nov.–Dec. 18The Indian vegetable and fruit seller...was known as a ‘sammy’, presumably because many Hindu surnames ended with the suffix ‘samy’.
An insulting and racist term of address or reference to an Indian man. Also attributive.
An insulting generic name given to an Indian trader or hawker, particularly a vegetable-hawker.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18831990

Browse Related Words

By Category

Titles and Modes of Address
Occupations

By Origin

Tamil
Sanskrit

By Usage

derogatory or offensive
samesmelting, nounn.samoosa, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English