Talk:hunkey

Etymology discussion
Hunky is defined in Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged). The dictionary was copyrighted in 1951 by the World Publishing Company.


 * Hunky - (noun - A foreigner; a laborer. (Slang).

Hunky is defined in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Fifth Edition (copyrighted in 1942), G. C. Merriam, publishers.


 * Hunk'y (hungk'i) -noun; plural, Hunkies (-iz). Slang, U.S. Also, Hunks (hungks). A foreign-born laborer, usually unskilled, especially a Hungarian or Yugoslav.

The word is probably of Eastern European origin, not of English origin.

Hunky is also an adjective meaning: "All right; in good condition; also, even; square."

Hunky-dory is a colloquial expression meaning: "Quite to one's content; comfortably nice."


 * Excessive guesswork appears in Wikipedia.


 * Contributors to Wikipedia often submit bogus materials. Maybe their egos control their actions, I don't know.  Thousands of reference books have been printed.  HUNKY is a well-defined term that appears in dictionaries which are readily available in many libraries.  Do some research in a library prior to submitting materials to Wikipedia.  Do not base your material on something that you saw on a television show such as The Jeffersons.  Good grief!


 * The 1977 version of Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary by G. & C. Merriam Company contains information in its Preface, on page #6a.
 * The first Merriam-Webster Collegiate appeared in 1898 and quickly won the esteem of student and general reader. A second edition was published in 1910, and subsequent editions came out in 1916, 1931, 1936, 1949, and 1963.  This eighth in the series incorporates the best of the time-tested features of its predecessors and introduces new features designed to add to its usefulness.
 * HUNKY is old enough to have been included in the 1898 dictionary. The 1942 dictionary (cited above) was based on the 1936 edition, so HUNKY was certainly listed in 1936.  The word has nothing to do with "African Americans" (whomever THEY are) or The Jeffersons.  Good grief!

I have removed the following from the Etymolgy section and referenced the Online Etymology Dictionary instead:


 * According to Crying Wolof:Does the word hip really hail from a West African language? by Jesse Sheidlower, the claim that this is derived from Wolof is erroneous.

--Williamsayers79 13:12, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

CanOD also has hunky, alt. sp. hunkie, but no hunkey. Seems reason enough to make the former the main entry. —Michael Z. 2008-05-06 01:45 z 

RFV discussion
"(US) All right; all square; in good order." Is it derived from hunky-dory:? If so, should it be hunky: (without the e)? Anyway, please cite if you're familiar with it. Equinox ◑ 14:34, 11 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Deleted. Equinox ◑ 00:12, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

RFM discussion: February 2021

 * See Talk:hunky.