digger

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English dyggar, equivalent to dig +‎ -er. In the sense of "Australian soldier", attributed to the considerable time that soldiers spent digging trenches during World War I. === Pronunciation === (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɪɡɚ/ (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɪɡə/ Rhymes: -ɪɡə(ɹ) === Noun === digger (plural diggers) A large piece of machinery that digs holes or trenches. Synonym: excavator Hyponyms: backhoe, trackhoe A tool for digging. (slang) A spade (playing card). One who digs. (Australia, obsolete) A gold miner, one who digs for gold. (Australia, informal) An Australian soldier. (Australia, dated, by extension) a friendly term of address, especially to a man. (US, offensive, ethnic slur, vulgar, slang, dated) A member of any Native American people in the western United States, especially Native Californians. ==== Usage notes ==== The eighth definition could be used in both official and colloquial contexts. In official contexts, it was used as a misnomer for specific Native American tribes, such as, but not limited to, the Shoshone, the Piute, the Goshute, the Bannok, and the Washoe tribes. In addition, "the term Digger was so widely accepted by early [colonial] Californians, used in journals, newspapers, reports of army officers and Indian agents in their report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that it came into standard usage." In colloquial contexts, it was used to describe any Native American tribe associated with digging for roots to eat. In the United States, "Digger" has derogatory connotations, suggesting not only white racism but also unfavorable attributes such as a lack of intelligence, inferiority, and contempt. It is associated with genocide and the subordinate social status of American Indians in the United States. ==== Hyponyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Lönnberg, Allan. (1981). The Digger Indian Stereotype in California. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 3(2), 215-233. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6qq09790 The So-Called California "Diggers" on Wikisource.Wikisource === Anagrams === rigged == Yola == === Etymology === From Middle English dyggar. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈdɪɡər/ === Noun === digger (figurative) duck Synonyms: dig, duucks === References === Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 35