I. ˈjimˈkrō noun
Usage: often capitalized J&C
Etymology: after Jim Crow, a stereotype Negro in a song-and-dance act presented by Thomas D. Rice died 1860 American entertainer that was based on an anonymous song of the early 19th century called Jim Crow
1. : negro — usually taken to be offensive
2. : discrimination (as in educational opportunity, social rights, or transportation facilities) against a racial or ethnic group other than white and especially against the Negro in the southern United States by either legal enforcement or traditional sanctions and usually by restrictive measures designed to prevent intermingling (as of Negroes with whites) on equal terms in public places
the Supreme Court decision outlawing Jim Crow in dining cars on interstate trains — Time
3.
a. : a machine for bending or straightening rails
b. : a planing machine with a reversing tool that can plane both ways
II. ˈ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ adjective
Usage: often capitalized J&C
1. : upholding jim crow
gradual relinquishment of Jim Crow laws — Raymond Moley
: practicing jim crow
a jim crow school
a jim crow town
: marked by jim crow
this Jim Crow environment — H.M.Gloster
2. : set aside for the use of a racial or ethnic group (as the Negro in the southern United States) that is being discriminated against
a jim crow railroad car
III. transitive verb
Usage: often capitalized J&C
: to subject to jim crow
the exploited and jim crowed life of the Negro — Sidney Finkelstein
many … states jim crow the Indians — Oliver La Farge