hankey - Glite Dictionary

Examples

Or she's asking me about some other piece of fringe, like Samantha hankey.

TÁR (2022)
She pulled out a clean hankey to wipe her eyes after crying.
He carried a colorful hankey in his pocket as a fashionable accessory.
During the winter, she always kept a warm hankey handy for her nose.

Synonyms

handkerchief

vshankey

90 2.2

A small square cloth for wiping your nose or face and for decoration

is a variant form rather than the standard neutral word

hanky

vshankey

Informal

22 7.7

A small square piece of cloth used to wipe your nose or eyes

is a variant spelling rather than the common form

snot rag

vshankey

Offensive

1 9.9

A rude word for a piece of cloth or paper used to wipe your nose

is the neutral non-derogatory name rather than a rude expression

pocket-handkerchief

vshankey

1 4.4

A small cloth kept in a pocket to wipe your nose or hands

is not specifically described as carried in a pocket

How Absorbent

towel

565 1.0

hankey

1 9.3

tissue

107 1.0

Surface Forms

hankey singular

hankeys plural

Morphology

hankey = hanky (transparent) = handkerchief + y

Hankey is a spelling variant of 'hanky', which is a clipped/diminutive form of 'handkerchief' and clearly denotes a small cloth for wiping.

Etymology

Hankey is a short form of handkerchief, which breaks into hand and kerchief (a 'cover for the head'), so it originally meant a small cloth you hold in your hand. That's why a hankey or hanky is the little square cloth people carry to wipe their nose or use as a costume accessory.