Cooli vs. Coolie — What's the Difference?

Alternative spelling of coolie

A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, cooli, cooly, or quli) is an outdated, offensive, and racist term for a low-wage laborer, typically of South Asian descent.The word coolie was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders across Asia, and by the 18th century would refer to migrant Indian indentured laborers, and by the 19th century, would gain a new definition of the systematic shipping and hiring of Asian workers under contract on plantations that had been formerly worked by enslaved Africans. The word has had a variety of other implications and is sometimes regarded as offensive or a pejorative, depending upon the historical and geographical context; in India, its country of origin, it is still considered a derogatory slur.

An unskilled Asian laborer.

An unskilled Asian worker, usually of Chinese or Indian descent; a labourer; a porter. Coolies were frequently transported to other countries in the 19th and early 20th centuries as indentured labourers.

An Indian or a person of Indian descent.

Same as Cooly.

An offensive name for an unskilled Asian laborer