dago
/ˈdeɪɡəʊ/
dago noun: a person of Italian descent.
Noun
- A person of Italian descent.
- There were Greeks and greasy Greeks, there were Chinese and Chinks, there were English and Pommies, but most of them clung to legitimacy. But with the Italians it was different. There were no Italians. All Italians were dago bastards.
[...]
Branigan had never worried, his position had been unique....2000, Filton Hebbard, Branigan: A Novel, page 128 - ‘Oh, well,’ Branigan shrugged, as he got about his shower. ‘Good or bad, I reckon he’s pretty easy with you. You’re about the only Dago I know who hasn’t stuck with his family, and yet he helps.’
Ivo’s eyes flashed. ‘I don’t like you calling me Dago.’
‘Why?’ Branigan was lathering up his body...2000, Filton Hebbard, Branigan: A Novel, page 158
- There were Greeks and greasy Greeks, there were Chinese and Chinks, there were English and Pommies, but most of them clung to legitimacy. But with the Italians it was different. There were no Italians. All Italians were dago bastards.
- A crewman who speaks Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian.
- The man-of-war’s-man, in sporting his money in those places, fancies himself perfectly at home; and he that dares for a moment to interrupt or oppose him, be he Dago or shipmate, will inevitably meet with a rebuff for his uninvited and indecorous intrusion; but coincide with him, extol the merits...1838, "A Man-of-war's-man" (pseudonym), Maritime Scraps, Or, Scenes in the Frigate United States During a Cruise in the Mediterranean..., Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
- I interviewed his aid to know what the Dago's rank was (Sailors call everybody that speaks Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, Dagos)1878, Francis O. Davenport, On a Man-of-war: A series of Naval Sketches
- A person of Southern European descent.
- Detective J.J. McVea of the Charles street station, who arrested the boys, says that the robbery of the safe was a remarkable one and showed no trace of amateurism. It was committed by four boys. Besides Lyons and Murphy, he says, there were in it Albert Moquin, 14 years old, of 68 West Third...1906 February 16, “[arrests for a larceny]”, in The Sun, New York City, U.S.
- When American troops are brigaded with the French, and fight side by side with the British, and realize that the line they hold is also held by the People of India, Portugal, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia and other countries they realize what brotherhood means.
Can a true American ever again call...1918 May 23, Cornelius M. Steffens, “Democracy in America”, in The Continent, volume 49, number 21
- A Catholic.
Examples of dago in a sentence
- He had that treacherous snarky look, characteristic of all these Mediterranean nations, known to Yankee sailors by the generic name of Dago.1897, Herbert Elliott Hamblen, On Many Seas: The Life and Exploits of a Yankee Sailor, page 351:
- Besides Lyons and Murphy, he says, there were in it Albert Moquin, 14 years old, of 68 West Third street, and one whom Lyons calls “Oscar the Wop,” or “Oscar the Dago.”1906 February 16, “[arrests for a larceny]”, in The Sun, New York City, U.S.:
- Sort of dago fellow; leads the orchestra down at the Winter Gardens ...1932, Dorothy L Sayers, chapter 10, in Have His Carcase:
- And all foreigners to him were "dem bloody dagoes"—for, according to his theory, foreigners were responsible for unemployment.1933 January 9, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapter XXVIII, in Down and Out in Paris and London, London: Victor Gollancz...
Synonyms of dago
Forms of dago
| plural | dagoes |
|---|---|
| plural | dagos |
Origin of dago
Alteration of diego (“Spaniard”), from Spanish Diego (common Spanish name) by law of Hobson-Jobson. The term originated among sailors from the Northern United States, first attested in Boston in 1838. "Diego" is the Portuguese nickname for any deckhand. After transforming into "dago" in English, the word gradually came to denote any Southern European in a derogatory manner. From there, the word spread to England by the 1890s, and to Australia following WW1. In Australia, it has undergone a narrowing in scope, now chiefly meaning "Italian", following a mass migration of Italians to Australia post-WW2.
Words formed from dago
Phrases with dago
Words that rhyme with dago
Questions about dago
- What does dago mean?
- Dago means a person of Italian descent.
- How do you use dago in a sentence?
- He had that treacherous snarky look, characteristic of all these Mediterranean nations, known to Yankee sailors by the generic name of Dago.
- What part of speech is dago?
- Dago is a noun.
- How do you pronounce dago?
- Dago is pronounced /ˈdeɪɡəʊ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of dago?
- The plural of dago is dagoes.
Words near dago in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dago (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-dago.wav.
Cite this entry: “dago.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dago. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.