Meanings
plural spics · alternative spick · alternative spik
- USderogatoryethnicoffensiveslurSynonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
- USethnicsluruncommonSynonym of Italian, an inhabitant of Italy or person of Italian descent.
“He’s a spic” he said. He was frantic with jealousy, he didn’t want to be hurt again.
1934, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Malcolm Cowley, Tender is the Night […], New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1951, →OCLC, book IV (Escape: 1925–1929), page 236Synonyms: Italian
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of Latino, an inhabitant of Latin America or person of Latin American descent.
nounSynonym of Italian, an inhabitant of Italy or person of Italian descent.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecompletely neat and clean
noun(ethnic slur) offensive term for persons of Latin American descent
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
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.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with spic
Cite this entry
spic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spic
“spic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spic.
Source: spic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.