Quote Originally Posted by nightfaerie
Honestly, it's just a word. I personally don't think either one of those terms are derogatory anyways - no one really means it in a bad way that I know of, it's simply a way of referring to the thing your talking about so that the other person understands.
Tell this to Afro-americans who were initially suposed to be called 'negros' , which means simply "black" btw.