Kike
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Wiktionary Kike or Kyke is an ethnic slur used chiefly in the United States to refer to a Jew. The term is regarded as universally offensive hate speech when used.
Use of the term is strongly discouraged in formal communication by editors in most major English-speaking media outlets, with the exception of direct quotes and references to the term's use, history, and impact.
The Interactive Dictionary of Racial Language refers to the term as "one of the most widespread racial slurs of American origin" and "certainly the king of the pejorative terms for Jews." [1]
Etymology
Used in print dates from the early 1900s. There are a number of theories regarding the origin of the term, the most popular and best historically-backed being:
- That it began as a form of Jewish differentiation before being universalized as a slur. Hypothesized to derive from a Yiddish term for "circle" (koykel or kikel), a mark often written by Jews not able to write using Latin characters on documents, parallel to the "x" mark used in Western culture, but seen by many Jews as a Christian cross.
Other theories include:
- That the term is derived from the Latin word caeca ("blind"), coming from Pope Clement VIII's declamation of the "blind obstinacy" of the Jews.
- That it was originally used by Western European Jewish immigrants to denigrate Eastern European Jews (whose surnames often ended in -(s)ky) or -(s)ki), and later by many mainstream (mostly non-Jewish) Americans.
- That the term derives from the German kieken, which means "to peep." P. Tamony, quoted in Cassell's Dictionary, claims that Jewish clothing manufacturers "peeped" at fancy European haute couture, and then made cheap knock-offs.
See also
- Anti-semitism
- List of ethnic group names used as insults (distinct from the below)
- List of ethnic slurs
- Profanity — with a discussion of how words can differ in meaning and offensiveness depending on who is using them.
- Racism