Wop
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Wop is a English pejorative ethnic slur for a person of Italian descent. It is derived from the Neapolitan word "guappo", meaning a person who flaunts an overbearingly cocky and swaggering attitude. The word defines those who belong to the "Guapperia" o "Camorra", a criminal organization similar to the Sicilian Mafia located mostly in Campania (an Italian Region) and its capital Naples.
The term is still commonly used especially in Central-South Italy (Meridione) to describe those that either belong to the organization or those that are arrogant to the point of inducing a fight. It was brought to the USA by early Italian immigrants from the province of Campania who named those suspected to belonging to the Guapperia “Guappi”, in a similar fashion the Sicilians used the term “Mafiosi”. Widely used in Chicago where most immigrants from Campania settled - one of its native sons Al Capone was a typical Guappo - it was confused by the non Italian population to indicate people of Italian origins, similarly the word “Paesano”.
Contrary to popular belief, it is most likely not an acronym for "With Out Papers" or "Without Passport", one of the most famous examples of folk etymology or backronym. The reason for this is that the term was already in popular use as early as 1910, a period in which no immigrant needed papers to enter the United States (passports and visas were not required of immigrants entering the country until 1921).
