ecky-becky

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Bajan ecky-becky. According to Bajan lore, the word ecky-becky is of African origin and can be traced back to a time before Africans came to Barbados. In one Igbo community in West Africa a French man allegedly named Equé Bequé, or something similar, attempted to settle there and colonize the village, but failed, as he had no money or army. From then on, the Igbo people called any poor Caucasian "Ecky-becky." This word would later be taken by these people to Barbados when they were captured along with other African tribes and brought into slavery.^[1]

Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Noun

ecky-becky (plural ecky-beckies)

(Barbados, slang, derogatory) A poor white person. Specifically, a lower-class descendant of the whites who worked the land before the arrival of African slaves.

References

^ Oppizi, Alessia (2010) “De Tongue dat Does Buy Yuh Does Sell Yuh: Bajan English proverbs on the Web”, in Oriana Palusci, editor, English, But Not Quite, Tangram, page 135.

[1] Oppizi, Alessia (2010) “De Tongue dat Does Buy Yuh Does Sell Yuh: Bajan English proverbs on the Web”, in Oriana Palusci, editor, English, But Not Quite, Tangram, page 135.

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