Added 9 October 2026
spic
/ˈspɪk/ noun
First recorded: 1910 Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about spic at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
adjective
-
Completely neat and clean.
the apartment was immaculate
Origin
First attested in this spelling in the 1910s, from earlier spig, spiggoty, spikity, generally taken to derive from a (stereotype of a) Hispanic pronunciation of "(no) speak d(e) English" (especially as used by the laborers who dug the Panama Canal). There are also later (1960s) suggestions that the term referred instead to Italians and derives from spaghetti, but there is little to back this up.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)