red man meaning (offensive): definition, etymology and quotations

red man

noun

Etymology In reference to Native Americans, generally accepted to have originated as a reference to their skin color; see redskin for more.

Ethnic, Offensive, Slur An American Indian; a Native American.

The Sacred Circles show was heavily into myth, especially the current myth of the Red Man as mystic.1977, Angela Carter, “That Arizona Home”, in Shaking a Leg, Vintage, published 2013, page 337:

Ireland, UK A small figure of a standing man illuminated in red on a traffic light at a pedestrian crossing, indicating that it is not safe to cross the road.

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see red, man.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:red man.