Modern Usage
The term Chinaman is described as being offensive in most modern dictionaries and studies of usage. It is not, however, as offensive as chink, which is an unapologetically racist term. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage considers Chinaman to have a "derogatory edge", The Cambridge Guide to English Usage describes it as having "derogatory overtones", and Philip Herbst's reference work The Color of Words notes that it may be "taken as patronizing". This distinguishes it from similar ethnic names such as Englishman and Irishman, which are not used pejoratively.
In its original sense, Chinaman is almost entirely absent from British English, and has been since before 1965. However, chinaman (not capitalized) is still used in an alternative sense as a left-arm unorthodox spin in cricket. Most British dictionaries see the term Chinaman as old-fashioned, and this view is backed up by data from the British National Corpus. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, in American English Chinaman is most often used in a "knowing" way, either satirically or to evoke the word's historical connotations. It acknowledges, however, that there is still some usage that is completely innocent. In addition, Herbst notes in The Color of Words that despite Chinaman's negative connotations, its use is not usually intended as malicious.
Read more about this topic: Chinaman (term)
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