Offensive ‘Arab’ listing deleted from thesaurus

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – An online thesaurus deleted a listing for the word “Arab” on Monday after Arab-American groups complained the entry included derogatory synonyms.

The entry, which appeared on thesaurus.com, listed the word as a noun meaning “beggar” and gave 16 pejorative synonyms including “homeless person” and “welfare bum.”

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee contacted the synonym book’s online publisher Friday to complain about the entry. The American Arab Forum also criticized the listing on Monday.