According to Online Etymology Dictionary by Douglas Harper, "Polack" meant as "Polish immigrant, person of Polish descent" was used in American English until the late 19th century (1879) to describe a "Polish person" in a non-offensive way (1574).
[2] Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) based on the Unabridged Dictionary by Random House claims that the word originated between 1590–1600. For example,
Shakespeare uses the term
Polacks in his tragedy
Hamlet to refer to opponents of Hamlet's father. A quote is given below:
Such was the very armour he had on
When he the ambitious Norway combated:
So frowned he once, when in an angry parle
He smote the sledded Polacks on the ice
damn they got him apologizing.
is polack derogatory term?
edit: yep polish twitter is pissed.
apparently it is