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'''Ofay''' is a [[race|racial]] slur, a [[slang]] term for a white person.  The term first appeared in print in the early 20th century, and may be older still.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/67/O0036700.html The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.  2000.]</ref>  The word is probably now best known from [[Lorraine Hansberry]]'s play "[[A Raisin in the Sun]]," where the character Beneatha declares "everything is strictly peachy keen, as the ofay kids say."
==Origins==
The word's origin is unclear. Two possible derivations point to the [[Atlantic slave trade]] and [[Nigeria]]. Among the possibilities are:

*During the 17th through 19th centuries, European traders established coastal ports in present-day Nigeria for their increasing traffic in slaves destined for the Americas.  Thus, "Ofay" might derive from the [[Ibibio language|Ibibio]] word "afia," which means "light-colored," and may have referred to European traders.  
*"Ofay" might also come from the [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] word "ofe," spoken in hopes of disappearing from danger such as that posed by European traders.
*Another possible source of the word is the French "au fait" (lit. "to the fact"), a phrase somtimes used in English, and sometimes facetiously used to describe a pompous person.
*Another is the pig-Latin form of foe.
*Another possibility is that it was invented by a crackhead who was trying to make his own language.⏎
⏎
==See also==
*[[List of ethnic slurs]] 

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Slang]]
[[Category:Ethnic slurs]]