honky

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hon·ky

or hon·kie also hon·key (hông′kē, hŏng′-)

n. pl. hon·kies also hon·keys Offensive Slang

Used as a disparaging term for a white person.

[Possibly blend of Wolof honq, red, pink, of light complexion, and hunky.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

honky

(ˈhɒŋkɪ)

n, pl honkies

1. US a White man or White men collectively

[C20: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hon•ky

or hon•kie

or hon•key

(ˈhɒŋ ki, ˈhɔŋ-)

n., pl. -kies -keys.

usage: This term is a slur and should be avoided. It is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as highly insulting.

—n.

Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. (a contemptuous term used to refer to a white person.)

[1945–50, Amer.; perhaps alter. of hunky¹]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

honky - (slang) offensive names for a White man

honkey, honkie, whitey

derogation, disparagement, depreciation - a communication that belittles somebody or something

jargon, lingo, patois, argot, vernacular, slang, cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo"

Caucasian, White, White person - a member of the Caucasoid race

Translations

honky

n (pej inf) → Weiße(r) mf

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in periodicals archive ?

A TORY grandee caused outrage yesterday by claiming it was fine to tell jokes about "honkies" and immigrants.

Conservative: Racist gags OK

Naheem Akhtar called police officers "honkies" and told one officer he would remember his white face - so he could shoot him.

Asian in race-hate attack on white PC

It's hard to sympathize, however, with a work about ghetto life whose apparently irony-free message is that Algerian men beating Algerian women is bad, but Algerian men beating Frenchmen is okay--they're rich honkies, you see.