12 Everyday Words You Use That Are Actually Racist
10. Hun
The origins of the term "hun" are quite complicated, but it appears to derive from a central Asian tribe named "Hunni" who overran Europe in the 4th Century. Subsequently used to mean a "reckless destroyer of beauty", it was applied first to the barbarity of German soldiers during World War I (after Kaiser Wilhelm II told his soldiers "to be like Huns" when he sent then to fight in China in 1900). Latterly, "hun" has been used as an offensive term for Protestants in Northern Ireland or for a member of the British military fighting in Ulster. So next time you called your friend or partner "hun" or "hunny", remember how it could be perceived by a German or Protestant Northern Irish person...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
The origins of the term "hun" are quite complicated, but it appears to derive from a central Asian tribe named "Hunni" who overran Europe in the 4th Century. Subsequently used to mean a "reckless destroyer of beauty", it was applied first to the barbarity of German soldiers during World War I (after Kaiser Wilhelm II told his soldiers "to be like Huns" when he sent then to fight in China in 1900). Latterly, "hun" has been used as an offensive term for Protestants in Northern Ireland or for a member of the British military fighting in Ulster. So next time you called your friend or partner "hun" or "hunny", remember how it could be perceived by a German or Protestant Northern Irish person...