What is "sambo"

Sambo \Sam"bo\, n. [Sp. zambo, sambo.] A colloquial or humorous appellation for a negro; sometimes, the offspring of a black person and a mulatto; a zambo.

Sambo \Sam"bo\, n. [Sp. zambo bandy-legged, the child of a negro and an Indian; prob. of African origin.]

1. A negro; sometimes, the offspring of a black person and a mulatto; -- formerly used colloquially or with humorous intent, but now considered offensive or racist by African-Americans. [Derogatory and offensive]

   Note: A children's book named Little Black Sambo was at one time popular in elementary schools, but the book has been removed from reading lists in many American schools due to the development of a reduced acceptance of patronizing depictions of negros, as well as the negative associations of the word itself.

2. In Central America, an Indian and negro half-breed, or mixed blood.

stereotypical name for male black person (now only derogatory), 1818, American English, probably a different word from sambo (n.1); like many such words (Cuffy, Rastus, etc.) a common personal name among U.S. blacks in the slavery days (first attested 1704 in Boston), probably from an African source, such as Foulah sambo "uncle," or a similar Hausa word meaning "second son."\n

\nIt could be used without conscious racism or contempt until circa World War II. When the word fell from polite usage, collateral casualties included the enormously popular children's book "The Story of Little Black Sambo" (by Helen Bannerman), which is about an East Indian child, and the Sambo's Restaurant chain, a U.S. pancake-specialty joint originally opened in Santa Barbara, Calif., in 1957 (the name supposedly from a merging of the names of the founders, Sam Battistone and Newell "Bo" Bohnett, but the chain's decor and advertising leaned heavily on the book), which once counted 1,200 units coast-to-coast. Civil rights agitation against it began in 1970s and the chain collapsed, though the original restaurant still is open. Many of the defunct restaurants were taken over by rival Denny's.

"person of mixed blood in America and Asia," 1748, perhaps from Spanish zambo "bandy-legged," probably from Latin scambus "bow-legged," from Greek skambos. Used variously in different regions to indicate some mixture of African, European, and Indian blood; common senses were "child of black and Indian parentage" and "offspring of a black and a mulatto."

n. (context slang Ireland English) A sandwich.

Sambo may refer to:

• Sambo (racial term), an obsolete term for a person with African heritage that is now considered offensive
• Sambo (martial art), developed in the USSR
• Sambo, the main character in the 1899 book The Story of Little Black Sambo
• Sambo's, a restaurant chain

• Sambo's Grave, grave of a slave (died 1736) at Sunderland Point in Lancashire, England
• TG Sambo, a Korean computer manufacturer
• Sambomaster, a Japanese rock band
• Sammanboende (or samboende), a Swedish term for people in cohabitation
• Sambo, the name in Ecuador for cucurbita ficifolia, a type of gourd
• Sambo, a romanized term for the three ancestral treasures of Chinese culture
• Sambo, Irish and Australian slang term for sandwich
• Sambo, Angola, a commune in the municipality of Tchicala Tcholohanga, province of Huambo, Angola

Sambo (; ) is a Soviet martial art and combat sport. The word "SAMBO" is an acronym for SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya, which literally translates as "self-defense without weapons". Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Army to improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities. It was intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts.

The pioneers of Sambo were Viktor Spiridonov and Vasili Oshchepkov. Oshchepkov died in prison as a result of the Great Purge after being accused of being a Japanese spy. Oshchepkov spent several years living in Japan and training in judo under its founder Jigoro Kano.

Spiridonov and Oshchepkov independently developed two different styles, which eventually cross-pollinated and became what is known as Sambo. Compared to Oshchepkov's judo-based system, then called "Freestyle Wrestling", Spiridonov's style was softer and less strength-dependent. This was in large part due to injuries Spiridonov sustained during World War I.

Anatoly Kharlampiev, a student of Vasili Oshchepkov, is also considered a founder of Sambo. In 1938, it was recognized as an official sport by the USSR All-Union Sports Committee.

Sambo is a term for a person with African heritage and, in some countries, also mixed with Native American heritage (see zambo).

Formerly, it had the technical meaning of a person having a mixture of black and white ancestry, more black than white—contrast with mulatto, quadroon, octoroon etc. in modern US English and British English.