sandlapper

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noun

A native of South Carolina.

Scrabble 15

Meanings

nounsandlapper (plural sandlappers)

plural sandlappers · alternative sand-lapper

  1. A native of South Carolina.

Origin

Upon visiting Columbia/Lancaster, SC, in 1791, George Washington is said to have called the people living on the sands near the river shores sandlappers. An alternative etymology is that the word was used before and during the American Revolution by the British and the residents of the Carolina coast to refer to residents of the river-bottoms and more generally of the back country and piedmont areas of South Carolina. The word originally had a pejorative connotation, not unlike hillbilly.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sandlapper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandlapper

MLA

“sandlapper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandlapper. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sandlapper,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandlapper.

Source: sandlapper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.