# The etymology of "kike" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445 "2016-08-11T14:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/1 "2016-08-11T14:43:50Z")
Prompted by current thread **What do people with no hands/no use of their hands use instead of a signature?** ([http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=801018](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=801018) As to OP: decades ago I was told exactly what [etymonline.com](http://etymonline.com) prints: Philip Cowen, first editor of “The American Hebrew,” suggests a source in Yiddish kikel “circle.” According to him, Jewish immigrants, ignorant of writing with the Latin alphabet, signed their entry forms with a circle, eschewing the customary “X” as a sign of Christianity. On this theory, Ellis Island immigration inspectors began calling such people kikels, and the term shortened as it passed into general use. However, that source first gives, citing only “early evidence supports” _its_ etymology, about the “ky” and “ki” endings of names from, presumably, the huge immigration wave following the Pogroms at the turns of the century. It then gives the Cowen paragraph above. Simple juxtaposition, which doesn’t suggest a strong conviction of the relative merits of the two (parataxis) although subordination is suggested. FTR, and I think suggestive, is that I was told the Cowen reasoning by a Jew, and to me, another MOT, it seemed acceptable, for reasons that can influence for better or worse all history, not just of words: it is part of a narrative of Jewish history, and actually a quite lengthy one by itself, quite deep and “praiseworthy,” as a cultural topos. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/2 "2016-08-11T15:11:17Z")
Sounds like folk etymology to me. Why would Ellis Island immigration officials use a Yiddish word? The Oxford English Dictionary gives “_said to be_ an alteration of -ki (or -ky), a common ending of the personal names of Eastern European Jews who emigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century.” (emphasis mine). The Historical Dictionary of American Slang says “origin uncertain, perhaps alteration of _Ike_, hypocoristic form of male given name _Isaac_”, although several of its early citations support the -ki theory. It points to a discussion in Mencken _American Language Supplement I_ (1945) but I don’t have access to that book. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/3 "2016-08-11T15:48:29Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Sounds like folk etymology to me. Why would Ellis Island immigration officials use a Yiddish word? And is this word only used in the US? Or can it be traced from American origins ca. 1900 to use elsewhere? Probably not. I’d guess a Germanic origin, just from hunch. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/4 "2016-08-11T16:50:57Z")
No origin is certain. The best discussion I can find is by Paul Drake on the [VNN Forum](http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t=15744). > [@](#): > > Many plausible theories have been advanced: > > a) To borrow from Leo Rosten’s The Joys of Yiddish, “The word kike was born on Ellis Island, when Jewish immigrants who were illiterate (or could not use Roman-English letters), when asked to sign the entry-forms with the customary ‘X,’ refused – and instead made a circle. The Yiddish word for ‘circle’ is kikel (pronounced KY - kel), and for ‘little circle,’ kikeleh. Before long the immigration inspectors were calling anyone who signed with an ‘O’ instead of an ‘X’ a kikel or kikeleh or kikee or, finally and succinctly, kike.” > > Rosten explains that for the Jewish immigrants, an ‘X’ was an evil sign, representing both the horrors of crucifixion and the sign of their (Christian) oppressors. Jewish - American merchants continued to sign with an ‘O’ instead of an ‘X’ for several decades, spreading the nickname kike wherever they went as a natural result. At that time kike was more of an affectionate term, or used by Jews to describe other Jews, and only developed into a racial slur later on. > > b) Due to the commonality of the Jewish forename “Isaac,” some have advanced the theory that kike descends from the abbreviation “Ike.” This theory lacks the evidence supporting the kikel derivation, but is not preposterous, given that it is well known that the slur Hymie is descended from the Jewish forename “Hyman” (originally “Chaim”). Furthermore, Ikey Mo is a British nickname for Jews that clearly descends from Isaac. > > c) Others argue that kike derives from a rhyme off of the last syllable of many Ashkenazi Jews’ last name, -sky or -ski. “Ki-ki” would have given way over time to kike, it is supposed. This theory is a bit counter-intuitive, however, since the syllables -sky or -ski are universally pronounced to rhyme with “key,” as opposed to “fly.” Hence one would assume, were this theory correct, that kike would be pronounced KEEK, which it most certainly is not. > > d) Still others believe that kike 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. > > Although any of these explanations could be truthful, only Rosten’s (theory “a”) has the weight of strong oral history in its favor. All parties agree that the term was originally used by German Jews who had emigrated to the United States earlier in the 19th century to describe their later-arriving Ashkenazi counterparts. In its origins, kike was used by Jews to describe other Jews who they felt were vulgar, and from there it became appropriated as part of the American vocabulary of slang. Kike is still used to this day by Jews to describe other Jews who they feel are low in character. [www.jtf.org/why.use.term.kike.htm](http://www.jtf.org/why.use.term.kike.htm) He also gives usage examples starting from 1904. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/5 "2016-08-11T17:07:11Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > No origin is certain. The best discussion I can find is by Paul Drake on the [VNN Forum](http://vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t=15744). > He also gives usage examples starting from 1904. Thank you very much for your research. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/6 "2016-08-11T19:55:16Z")
The OED favors the -ki origin: > [@](#): > > Said to be an alteration of -ki (or -ky), a common ending of the personal names of Eastern European Jews who emigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the 20th cent. As for the pronunciation issue, that’s not a disqualification. “Kike” would be pronounced with an “i” in “like” by anyone who saw it written, and it’s more than likely it could have changed very quickly. See what happened to Baseball Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler. Pronounced “Coy Coy” originally. Few people today pronounce it that way, and it was probably pronounced “Key Key” even when he was playing. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/7 "2016-08-12T14:41:12Z")
Since every other input is a GUESS… Chaucer used “kike” to mean “stare”. its a guess to say this is the meaning of kike… but it makes sense if it were true… People who couldn’t understand english as they had only learn semetic and their continental language (due to the migration to Iberian peninsula and then migration from there to the north and north east… )… would be sitting there staring , unable to understand the instructions and explanations… While british immigrants would just be relaxed, and european immigrants may have had more upset disposition… the jews were sort of happy and relaxed, but had nothing else to do but watch. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/8 "2016-08-12T16:41:09Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Since every other input is a GUESS… > > Chaucer used “kike” to mean “stare”. its a guess to say this is the meaning of kike… but it makes sense if it were true… People who couldn’t understand english as they had only learn semetic and their continental language (due to the migration to Iberian peninsula and then migration from there to the north and north east… )… would be sitting there staring , unable to understand the instructions and explanations… While british immigrants would just be relaxed, > and european immigrants may have had more upset disposition… the jews were sort of happy and relaxed, but had nothing else to do but watch. Huh? “Semetic” is not a language. William the Conqueror brought Jews from Rouen with him. They probably spoke his version of French. Why? Because Jews can learn different languages, just like everybody else. There were no Jewish communities in England at the time of Chaucer. They had been expelled a hundred years earlier and wouldn’t be allowed to return for 250 years. Chaucer would have been read by a tiny percentage of elites in England, and by the time the Jews returned his usages were too old fashioned to be used, especially as slang. Four letter words are common and get reused, often with no connection to a forgotten earlier usage. This is the most amazing collection of offense, ignorance, non sequiturs, bad history, and sheer unbridled lack of learning that it has been my privilege to read in quite a while. A feat, sir. A veritable feat. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/9 "2016-08-12T19:01:41Z")
Jews: The Happy and Relaxed People ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/10 "2016-08-12T19:05:02Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Jews: The Happy and Relaxed People Who wouldn’t be happy and relaxed if they knew they were chosen? I mean, nothing bad could ever happen. Amirite? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/11 "2016-08-12T19:27:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The OED favors the -ki origin: > > As for the pronunciation issue, that’s not a disqualification. “Kike” would be pronounced with an “i” in “like” by anyone who saw it written, and it’s more than likely it could have changed very quickly. See what happened to Baseball Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler. > > Pronounced “Coy Coy” originally. Few people today pronounce it that way, and it was probably pronounced “Key Key” even when he was playing. " **Kiki" Cuyler** ’s name was never pronounced "Coy Coy. It wasn’t pronounced “Kee Kee” either, except if you only saw the written nickname and said it that way. Anyone in baseball knew how to pronounce his name. He got it in the minor leagues, either from a manager who stuttered(seriously) or teammates calling out “Cuy” “Cuy” as to who had to catch the fly out. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-etymology-of-kike/762445/12 "2016-08-12T19:39:41Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Since every other input is a GUESS… > > Chaucer used “kike” to mean “stare”. its a guess to say this is the meaning of kike… but it makes sense if it were true… People who couldn’t understand english as they had only learn semetic and their continental language (due to the migration to Iberian peninsula and then migration from there to the north and north east… )… would be sitting there staring , unable to understand the instructions and explanations… While british immigrants would just be relaxed, > and european immigrants may have had more upset disposition… the jews were sort of happy and relaxed, but had nothing else to do but watch. To put it nicer than **Exapno** , there is NO possibility that he Middle English words _kike/kyke/keke_ used by Chaucer have any relationship to the term “kike” used around the beginning of the 20th century to disparage foreigners, especially Jewish Imigrants to the US.