Mandingo
/mænˈdɪŋɡoʊ/noun
A historical English name for the Mandinka people of West Africa, later also used in a racialized stereotype or slur.
Did you know?Portuguese mandinga, associated with charms or magic in colonial-era usage, was linked to the Mandinka and helped give English the related word “mandingo,” though the sexual stereotype is a much later distortion.
Etymological Timeline
Medieval West Africa
Mande languages
Mande
“A broad ethnolinguistic name associated with peoples and languages of the western Sudan region; its deeper origin is uncertain.”
15th–16th Century
Portuguese
Mandinga
“A name for the Mandinka people and their language, encountered by Portuguese travelers on the West African coast.”
16th Century
Portuguese
mandinga
“A charm, amulet, or magical practice in colonial usage, a meaning associated with European ideas about West African spiritual practices.”
18th Century
English
Mandingo
“An English form used for the Mandinka people, especially in geographical, commercial, and colonial writing.”
19th Century
American English
Mandingo
“A racialized label increasingly connected with stereotypes about Black male physicality and sexuality.”
Modern English
English
Mandingo
“A historical ethnonym that may be respectful in historical contexts but is often offensive when used as a racial or sexual stereotype.”