hunky

¹ American  

[huhng-kee] / ˈhʌŋ ki /

adjective

Slang.

1. satisfactory; well; all right.

2. even; leaving no balance.

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hunky ² American  

[huhng-kee] / ˈhʌŋ ki /

adjective

hunkier, hunkiest

1. Slang. (of a male) handsome and having well-developed physique.

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hunky ³ American  

[huhng-kee] / ˈhʌŋ ki /

Or hunkie

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

hunkies plural

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a person of Hungarian or Slavic descent, especially an unskilled or semiskilled worker.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hunkies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hunky¹

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; from obsolete New York City slang term hunk, used especially by boys at play for home base, home (the goal); from Dutch honk “post, station, base, home” + -y ¹ ( def. ); see also hunky-dory ( def. )

Origin of hunky²

First recorded in 1910–15; hunk + -y ¹

Origin of hunky³

First recorded in 1905–10; (bo)hunk ( def. ) + -y ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

There’s a compelling argument that the incredible flowering of songwriting talent on Hunky Dory may make it Bowie’s greatest album.

From The Guardian • Mar. 19, 2020

My friend Claire opened up a place called Hunky Dory on Franklin Avenue, which I love to visit.

From New York Times • Sep. 6, 2019

Hunky Joel’s backstory makes his rift with Olivia all the more tragic, but he’d barely registered when seen through Petra’s eyes.

From Slate • Nov. 10, 2017

Bowie played a gig at the club in September 1971 where he gave the world debut of Hunky Dory.

From BBC • Dec. 5, 2016

They had not been discussing these plans many minutes, when Mary was seen crossing the yard in company with Hunky Ben.

From Charlie to the Rescue by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

Related Words

• attractive
• handsome
• well-built