Etymology

wetback

W4E1T1B3A1C3K5

Today it means: A Mexican or Central American who illegally enters the United States of America from its southern border. Full definition →

English back ← Middle English bak ← Old English bæc
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Germanic*wētaz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*wāt
  4. Old Englishwǣt
  5. Middle Englishwet
  6. Englishwet
  7. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeg-der.?
  8. Proto-Germanic*baką
  9. Proto-West Germanic*bak
  10. Old Englishbæc
  11. Middle Englishbak
  12. Englishback
  13. English todaywetback

First used in the 1920s from the presumed effects of swimming or wading across the Rio Grande. Used by the U.S. Government in 1954 with Operation Wetback.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.