dyke

¹

[ dahyk ]

noun

, dyked, dyk·ing.

1. dike ¹.

dyke

²

[ dahyk ]

noun

, Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a lesbian.

dyke

¹

/ daɪk /

noun

1. slang.
   a lesbian

Dyke

²

/ dɑɪk /

noun

1. DykeGreg(ory)1947MBritishFILMS AND TV: television executive Greg ( ory ). born 1947, British television executive; director-general of the BBC (2000–04)

dyke

³

/ daɪk /

noun

1. an embankment constructed to prevent flooding, keep out the sea, etc
2. a ditch or watercourse
3. a bank made of earth excavated for and placed alongside a ditch
4. a wall, esp a dry-stone wall
5. a barrier or obstruction
6. a vertical or near-vertical wall-like body of igneous rock intruded into cracks in older rock
7. informal.
   1. a lavatory
   2. ( as modifier )

      a dyke roll

verb

1. civil engineering an embankment or wall built to confine a river to a particular course
2. tr to protect, enclose, or drain (land) with a dyke

Sensitive Note

The terms dyke and bull dyke are used with disparaging intent and are perceived as insulting. However, they have been adopted as positive terms of self-reference by young or radical lesbians and in the academic community. In the mainstream gay community, lesbian and gay remain the terms of choice.

Other Words From

• dyk·ey adjective dykier dykiest

Word History and Origins

Origin of dyke¹

First recorded in 1940–45; earlier in form bulldike (with a variant bulldagger ); of obscure origin; claimed to be a shortening of morphodyke (variant of morphodite, a reshaping of hermaphrodite ), though morphodyke is more likely a blend of morphodite and a preexisting dyke; other hypothesized connections, such as with diked out or dike “ditch,” are dubious on semantic grounds

Word History and Origins

Origin of dyke¹

C20: of unknown origin

Origin of dyke²

C13: modification of Old English dic ditch; compare Old Norse dīki ditch