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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

Indian giver en · NOUN

Etymology

See Indian giving.

Meanings

  1. (informal, offensive) A person who demands the return of or takes back something that was previously given.
    • He was labeled an "Indian giver"—someone who gives a gift only to ask for it back. 2001, Jon Ippolito, “Whatever Happened to the Gift Economy?”, in Leonardo, volume 34, number 2, page 159:
    • Mark me, he'll never take those bonds.... He gave them to you and he's not an Indian giver." 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 41, in Kindred of the Dust:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
Indian givers Number=Plur lexicographic

Relateds

Indian gift · Indian giving

Translations (1)

ceb hatag bawi (an Indian giver)