Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “wog” come from?

wog (English) comes from English polliwog, from English polwigge, from Middle English polwygle.

wog (English): Any dark-skinned person. It originally referred...

Definitions

  1. Any dark-skinned person. It originally referred...

Ancestry of “wog”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpolliwogA tadpole
2Englishpolwigge—
3Middle Englishpolwygle—

Words derived from “wog”

  • woggish
  • wogball
Every word from Middle English polwygle →