spic
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Possibly imitative of a Hispanic pronunciation of speak. Usually considered a contraction of the earlier used spiggoty.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
spic (plural spics)
- (US, offensive, derogatory, ethnic slur) A Latino; a person of Latin American descent.
- (US, ethnic slur, originally) A person of Italian descent.
- 1934, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night: A Romance, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC; republished as Malcolm Cowley, editor, Tender is the Night: A Romance [...] With the Author’s Final Revisions, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1951, →OCLC, book IV (Escape: 1925–1929), page 236:
- “He’s a spic” he said. He was frantic with jealousy, he didn’t want to be hurt again.
See also edit
Further reading edit
- Jonathon Green (2024) “spic n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin spicum < spica. Doublet of épi, which was inherited.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
spic m (uncountable)
- Spike lavender
- Synonym: lavande aspic
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “spic”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Old English edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-West Germanic *spik, from Proto-Germanic *spiką. Cognate with Dutch spek, German Speck, and Icelandic spik.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
spiċ n
Declension edit
Declension of spic (strong a-stem)
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | spiċ | — |
accusative | spiċ | — |
genitive | spiċes | — |
dative | spiċe | — |
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Latin spīcum, alternative form of spīca.
Noun edit
spic n (plural spice)