ofay

Still a mystery as to the origin of the word. It almost certainly isn't Gullah of West African. It almost certainly isn't from "foe" in Pig Latin as that form of "Pig Latin" didn't really start until 1920 and "ofay" was around from at least the 1890s. It usually wasn't used in a derogatory way about whites, but rather just as a matter of fact expression. Quite often used in early Black newspapers in columns written about theatrical performers and that the "ofay" owned the theater in which the Black performers, er uh, performed.