pekkie, noun and & adjective

/ˈpeki/
Forms:
Also peckie, perkie.
Origin:
IsiZulu, AfrikaansShow more Unknown; perhaps from isiZulu umpheki cook (plural abapheki); or adaptation of Afrikaans pik pitch (see Akhalwaya quotation 1978); or see quotation 1970.
derogatory, offensive
A. noun An insulting term for a black person.
1963 B. Modisane Blame Me on Hist. (1986) 53‘Kill a black man and it’s three years,’ Moffat said. ‘They like it when the perkies, the monkeys, kill each other.’
1970 Beeton & Dorner in Eng. Usage in Sn Afr. Vol.2 No.2, 6Pekkie,..abbr[eviation] of piccanin, male Ba[ntu] of any age, used in Natal.
1988 S.A. Botha in Frontline Apr.–May 24‘I tjaaf you, the peckies are getting white these days,’ said Don. ‘You can’t trust them, any of them.’
1991 V. Hustler Informant, UmtentweniWe battled at work today, the pekkies (blacks) had a stayaway.
1991 A. Kuttner Informant, Johannesburg, GautengPeckie: Means African, male or female. Probably comes from piccanin. ‘You know, he treats his clerk like a bloomin’ peckie.’ Derogatory.
B. adjective Of a person: black. Also shortened form pek.
1978 L. Barnes in The 1820 Vol.51 No.12, 19There are..pekkie ous (Blacks) — known also as zims, zambis and ravens.
1978 A. Akhalwaya in Rand Daily Mail 10 July 7The Natal pronunciation of Afrikaans words such as ‘wit’ and ‘pik’ come out as ‘vet’ and ‘pek’. And our main ou, who is also a ‘chaar ou’ (Indian), has friends of all races — ‘vet ous’ (whites), ‘pek ous’ (blacks) and ‘bruin ous’ (coloureds).
An insulting term for a black person.
Of a person: black. Also shortened form pek.
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19631991

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derogatory or offensive
pekel, nounn.pelargonium, nounn.
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