Wop

“WOP” is the English adaptation and mis-pronunciation of the Ital-Neapolitan word “GUAPPO” (Pronounced "Guah-ppoh"). The word defines those who belong to the Guapperia o “Camorra”, a criminal organization similar to the Sicilian Mafia located mostly in the province of Campania (an Italian Province) and its capital Napoli, Italia. The term is still commonly used in Italy especially in Central-South (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 belong to the "Guapperia": "Guappi", in a similar fashion 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", the term was confused by the non Italian population to indicate people of Italian origins, similarly to the word “Paesano”. The term has been erroneously explained to mean “Without Papers” because of the initials “WP” or "WOP" by those, Italian descent or not, that have little knowledge of Italian history and dialects. The term has taken a derogatory meaning in North America and for many refers to people of Italian origin or background.