What is the origin of the word bigot?
bigot Look up bigot at Dictionary.com 1598, from M.Fr. bigot, from O.Fr., supposedly a derogatory name for Normans, the old theory (not universally accepted) being that it springs from their frequent use of O.E. oath bi God. Plausible, since the Eng. were known as goddamns in Joan of Arc’s France, and during World War I Americans serving in France were said to be known as les sommobiches (see also son of a bitch). But the earliest Fr. use of the word (12c.) is as the name of a people apparently in southern Gaul. The earliest Eng. sense is of “religious hypocrite,” especially a female one, and may be influenced by beguine. Sense extended 1687 to other than religious opinions. This is the definition from dictionary.com. The Oxford Dictionary of Etymology seems to concur with this – in that it was a name give to the Normans, but also noted that it was used in 12th century, and then became a family name for a Norman family.
