Bigotry facts for kids

A bigot is a person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities that are different from his or her own. Mostly, the person's opinions are based on prejudice.

The origin of the word bigot in English dates back to at least 1598, via French. It started with the sense of "religious hypocrite", especially a woman.

The word bigot is often used as a pejorative term against a person who is obstinately devoted to negative prejudices, even when those prejudices are proven to be false.

Forms of bigotry may have a related ideology.

Etymology

The exact origin of the word is unknown, but may have come from the German bei and gott, or the English by God. William Camden wrote that the Normans were first called bigots, when their Duke Rollo, who receiving Gisla, daughter of King Charles, in marriage, and with her the investiture of the dukedom, refused to kiss the king's foot in token of subjection, unless the king would hold it out for that purpose. And being urged to it by those present, Rollo answered hastily, "No by God", whereupon the king turning about, called him bigot; which name passed from him to his people. This is likely fictional, however, as Gisla is unknown in Frankish sources.

Related pages

• Anti-Semitism
• Discrimination
• Fascism
• Homophobia
• Misogyny
• Misandry
• Nazism
• Racism
• Religious persecution
• Sexism
• Xenophobia

• Ayto, John. Dictionary of Word Origins: The Histories of More Than 8,000 English-Language Words. New York: Arcade Publishing. 1990.

Images for kids

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  An African-American man drinking from a racially segregated water cooler marked "Colored", in Oklahoma City c. 1939.

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  Nationalists in Corsica sometimes spray-paint or shoot traffic signs in French.

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  Anti-Arab sign in Pattaya Beach, Thailand

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  German warning in German-occupied Poland 1939 – "No entrance for Poles!"

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  Antisemitic graffiti in Lithuania. The words read Juden raus (German for Jews out) and Hasse (presumably a misspelling of Hass, German for hate)

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  An African-American child at a segregated drinking fountain on a courthouse lawn, North Carolina, US 1938.

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  In the 1990s, Bhutan expelled its Hindu population or forced it to leave the country in order to preserve Bhutan's Buddhist culture and identity.

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  Students protesting against racial quotas in Brazil: "Quer uma vaga? Passe no vestibular!" ("Do you want a spot? Pass the entrance exam!")

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  An anti-discrimination education workshop at the Auschwitz Jewish Center, Poland, 2019

See also

• In Spanish: Intolerancia (sociología)