[Ads-l] "Buffalo Soldier" Not in OED

[Jonathan Lighter]

1870 _ N. Y. Dispatch_ (Jan. 16) 6 {GenealogyBank]:  By An Army
Officer...The Indians...have ...supreme contempt for them [sc. civilian
Texans], as soldiers or fighters. They call them "buffalo soldiers,"
meaning they are fit to hunt buffalo only, and not to take the war-path.

1872 _Dallas Herald_ (May 11) [unp.] [GenealogyBank]:  His regiment of
mounted negroes, whom, we are told, are called "buffalo soldiers" by the
noble sons of the forest. It is said the Indians have a great contempt for
these.

1873 _Morning Oregonian_ (Portland) (Apr. 2) 2 [GenealogyBank]:  [The 10th
U.S. Cavalry] is composed of what the Indians call "Buffalo soldiers," they
being dark-skinned and curly-headed.

JL

On Wed, Jan 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu> wrote:

> The term "Buffalo soldier," denoting U.S. Army soldiers in African
> American regiments, does not appear in OED.  The oldest citation I have
> found is the following:
>
> 1879 Helena Weekly Independent 16 Oct. 2/3 (Newspapers.com)
>
> The Laramie Times says:  The Indians call the colored troops buffalo
> soldiers, on account of their kinky hair.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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