hanky
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hanky
First recorded in 1890–95; han(d)k(erchief) + -y 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She drops a bag of groceries on to her kitchen table, and reaches for a clear plastic cup, covered by a white hanky and sealed with a hairband.
From The Guardian • May 3, 2019
But who wants to see a swashbuckler coughing up blood into a stolen gentlemen’s hanky?
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2018
Big Laramie Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief Richard Parrish handed me a blue hanky with a gesture toward my face.
From Washington Times • Jun. 14, 2017
We did this about three times, and there was no physical contact, no hanky panky, just old-fashioned dating, conversation and dining.
From The Verge • Sep. 11, 2016
“Want a hanky, Potter, in case you start crying in Transfiguration?”
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
