Aliens

Since xenophobia, or hatred of strangers, is a feature of most societies, terms for aliens tend to form a notable word stock in the vocabulary of swearing and vituperation. Various stereotypical behaviors are attributed to aliens. These include barbarism, savagery, sexual perversion, paganism, stupidity, lack of hygiene, dishonesty, unscrupulous business practices, strange clothes and eating habits, inarticulateness, and incompetence in using the speaker’s language. These present various degrees of threat to the “home” culture, which stigmatizes outsiders accordingly. Thus terms like macaroni, frog , and limey derive from fairly trivial notions or myths about diet, whereas the derogatory use of jew in phrases like to jew down , meaning “to cheat,” is a far more profound criticism.

The prime forces driving the early generation of xenophobic attitudes are religious and martial rivalry. Thus the earliest hostile terms are heathen , derived from Anglo-Saxon hæ?en , followed in medieval times by infidel and paynim , the old form of pagan . As the age of European exploration developed in subsequent centuries, a whole group of new terms emerged around 1600, namely savage, alien, intruder, interloper, barbarian , and foreigner .