darkey

1 9.9

An offensive and outdated word for a Black person

noun

Slur

: [ofensivo] término despectivo para una persona negra

Ask that darkey if he is the Honorable Mr. Brown, Congressman from South Carolina.

Examples

You just do like I told you and stay away from those darkey gals who come around in the evenings.
When they do appear, they are referred to as "darkeys" (Graves 1930) or "pickaninnies" (Simpich 1946) and simply provide a backdrop for the actions of southern whites, taking their places with the magnolias and cotton fields.

Academic text (2003)
I even enjoyed and laughed at "Minstrel Shows" and the "darkeys" that they stereotyped in their songs and lyrics.

Blog text (7)
Elaine Brown of the Panthers dubbed the post-riot Watts Summer Festival (which the US helped to sponsor) a "Darkey Carnival" or "Darkey Parade."

Academic text (2001)
Elaine Brown of the Panthers dubbed the post-riot Watts Summer Festival (which the US helped to sponsor) a "Darkey Carnival" or "Darkey Parade."

Academic text (2001)
My father, in old Tolland County, cut down a pine tree once and found a silver ring grown over in it; some old darkey's wedding ring.

Synonyms

Black person

vsdarkey

395 1.2

A person with dark skin whose family comes from Africa

is offensive and outdated rather than neutral or respectful

Surface Forms

darkey singular

darkeys plural

Morphology

darkey = dark (semi-transparent) = dark + ey

The referent ('a dark person') is directly derivable from 'dark' + the diminutive/pejorative suffix '-ey', but the offensive/pejorative sense is pragmatic and not predictable from morphology alone.

Etymology

Darkey comes from the English word dark, meaning 'black' or 'without light', with the ending -ey that makes a nickname. A helpful way to remember it is that it began as a name for people with dark skin, and that is why darkey is an old, insulting word for a Black person and is offensive today.