Pronunciation: - ' täm
Function: noun
Etymology: Uncle Tom, pious and faithful black slave in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1851-52) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Date: 1922
1 : a black who is overeager to win the approval of whites (as by obsequious behavior or uncritical acceptance of white values and goals)
2 : a member of a low-status group who is overly subservient to or cooperative with authority <the worst floor managers and supervisors by far are women ⋯ Some of them are regular Uncle Toms ― Jane Fonda>
– Uncle Tom · ism \ - ' tä- ˌ mi-z ə m \ noun