Meanings
plural sandlappers · alternative sand-lapper
- 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
sandlapper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandlapper
“sandlapper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandlapper. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sandlapper,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sandlapper.
Source: sandlapper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.