poor white

noun

Etymology: poor (I)

: a member of an inferior or underprivileged white social group — often taken to be offensive

if these bad farming practices persisted … some settlers were in danger of becoming poor whites — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)

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Usually Disparaging and Offensive.

a white person, esp. of the southern U.S., having low social status and little or no money, property, or education.

[1810-20, Amer.]

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poor white noun (usu derogatory)

A member of a class of poor, improvident, and incompetent white people in the Southern states of the USA, South Africa and elsewhere, often called by the blacks poor white trash

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Main Entry: ↑poor

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poor white,

a white person (especially in the southern United States) having little or no money and low social position (usually disparaging).

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n. offensive a member of a group of white people regarded as socially inferior, esp. one living in the southern U.S