alt. sp. of dike
dyke
dykeSlang a lesbian, esp. one with physical characteristics traditionally thought of as belonging to men: usually a term of contempt and hostility
Origin of dyke
contr. from morphodyke, morphodite, altered from hermaphroditeWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"dyke." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/dyke>.
APA Style
dyke. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/dyke
dyke
also dike
noun
Offensive SlangUsed as a disparaging term for a lesbian.
Origin of dyke
Origin unknownRelated Forms:
- dyke′y
adjective
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"dyke." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/dyke>.
APA Style
dyke. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/dyke
Noun
(plural dykes)
- Alternative spelling of dike.
- (Australia, slang) A toilet.
- 1977, In Cubbaroo's dim distant pastThey built a double dyke.Back to back in the yard it stoodAn architectural dream in wood— Ian Slack-Smith, The Passing of the Twin Seater, from The Cubbaroo Tales, 1977. Quoted in Aussie Humour, Macmillan, 1988, ISBN 0-7251-0553-4, page 235.
- (UK) A ditch (rarely also refers to similar natural features, and to one natural valley, Devil's Dyke, Sussex, due to a legend that the devil dug it).
- (UK, mainly S England) An earthwork consisting of a ditch and a parallel rampart.
- (UK) An embankment to prevent inundation, or a causeway.
- (UK, mainly Scotland and N England) A mound of earth, stone- or turf-faced, sometimes topped with hedge planting, or a hedge alone, used as a fence.
- (UK, mainly Scotland and N England) A dry-stone wall usually forming a boundary to a wood, field or garden.
- (UK, geology) A body of once molten igneous rock that was injected into older rocks in a manner that crosses bedding planes.
Origin
Variant of dike.
Noun
(plural dykes)
Usage notes
In the sense of a gay woman, this term is generally derogatory when used by heterosexuals (sometimes when used by non-heterosexuals), but, it is also used by some lesbians and bisexual women to refer to themselves, positively. A similar approach to the possibility of reclamation is evident in the use of the word queer among some lesbians, bisexual women, and others; see reclaimed word and reappropriation for discussion. It is important to note that many people do not believe that “queer” is able to be reclaimed, because of its fraught history and continued pejorative usage. Thus, the terms “dyke” and “queer” are both potentially liberatory while also being highly contested.
Origin
See also: dikeUnknown; various theories suggested.
Attested US 1942, in Berrey and Van den Bark’s American Thesaurus of Slang.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"dyke." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/dyke>.
APA Style
dyke. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/dyke
