Jim Crow

noun
1.
a practice or policy of segregating or discriminating against blacks, as in public places, public vehicles, or employment.
2.
Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a black person.
Also, jim crow.
Origin
1830-40, Americanism; so called from the name of a song sung by Thomas Rice (1808-60) in a minstrel show

Jim-Crow

[jim-kroh] /ˈdʒɪmˈkroʊ/
adjective
1.
favoring or supporting Jim Crow.
2.
for blacks only:
a Jim-Crow school.
Also, jim-crow.
British Dictionary definitions for Jim Crow

jim crow

/ˈdʒɪm ˈkrəʊ/
noun (often capitals) (US)
1.
  1. the policy or practice of segregating Black people
  2. (as modifier): jim-crow laws
2.
  1. a derogatory term for a Black person
  2. (as modifier): a jim-crow saloon
3.
an implement for bending iron bars or rails
4.
a crowbar fitted with a claw
Derived Forms
jim-crowism, noun
Word Origin
C19: from Jim Crow, name of song used as the basis of an act by Thomas Rice (1808–60), American entertainer
Word Origin and History for Jim Crow

"black person," 1838, American English, originally the name of a black minstrel character in a popular song-and-dance act by T.D. Rice (1808-1860) that debuted 1828 and attained national popularity by 1832:

Wheel about, an' turn about, an' do jis so;
Eb'ry time I wheel about, I jump Jim Crow.
Where and how Rice got it, or wrote it, is a mystery. Even before that, crow (n.) had been a derogatory term for a black man. Association with segregation dates from 1842, in reference to a railroad car for blacks. Modern use as a type of racial discrimination is from 1943. In mid-19c., Jim Crow also could be a reference to someone's change of (political) principles (from the "jump" in the song).

Jim Crow in Culture

Jim Crow definition


A descriptive term for the segregation of institutions, businesses, hotels, restaurants, and the like. It also refers to the laws that required racial segregation.

Slang definitions & phrases for Jim Crow

Jim Crow

modifier

: Jim Crow laws

noun phrase
  1. A black man; African-American (1828+)
  2. Segregation and discrimination against black people, and the laws and practices that accompany them: My first experience with Jim Crow/ Jim Crow killed Bessie Smith (1940s+)
verb

: I would like to say that the people who Jim Crow me have a white heart

[fr a character in a minstrel-show song by T D Rice]