Polack
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Polish Polak (“a Polish person”). Cognate to French Polak, and akin to Swedish polack.
Pronunciation
edit- (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈpoʊlɑk/
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpəʊlæk/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Homophone: polac
Noun
editPolack (plural Polacks)
- (now Canada, US now offensive slang) A Pole, or person of Polish descent.
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 260, column 2, line 63:
- which to him appear'd / To be a preparation 'gainſt the Poleak
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], page 260, column 2, line 75:
- So leuied as before, againſt the Poleak.
- 1610, Thomas Middleton, “Sir R. Sherley Sent Ambassador, etc.”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton, volume VIII, published 1886, page 307:
- First therefore was he employed into Poland, where by Sigismund, the king of Poland and of Suecia, he was received with great magnificence and applause both of the Polack himself and of his people.
Usage notes
edit- The term Polack was used neutrally through the late nineteenth century, but is today considered an ethnic slur in North America as it was associated with poorer immigrants. The Polish still refer to themselves by this term, and other countries do not attach an offensive connotation.
Synonyms
editTranslations
editderogatory: Polish person
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Proper noun
editPolack
Statistics
edit- According to the 2010 United States Census, Polack is the 35057th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 643 individuals. Polack is most common among White (78.38%) and Black/African American (9.49%) individuals.
See also
editFurther reading
edit- Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Polack”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.
French
editPronunciation
editNoun
editPolack m (plural Polacks)
Hunsrik
editPronunciation
editNoun
editPolack m (plural Polacke)
- Pole, Polack
Further reading
editCategories:
- English terms derived from Polish
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Canadian English
- American English
- English offensive terms
- English slang
- English terms with quotations
- English proper nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English surnames
- English surnames from Polish
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French terms spelled with K
- French masculine nouns
- Hunsrik 2-syllable words
- Hunsrik terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hunsrik lemmas
- Hunsrik nouns
- Hunsrik masculine nouns