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Polack

[poh-lahk, -lak]
noun
  1. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Pole or person of Polish descent.
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Origin of Polack

First recorded in 1590–1600, Polack is from the Polish word polak a Pole
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for polack

Historical Examples

  • He tried to reason with them; but the Hungarians and Polack miners know no reason.

    Elizabeth Hobart at Exeter Hall

    Jean K. Baird

  • He danced away like a Polack right merrily with his family, and stuck the rod behind the fur.

    Titan: A Romance v. 1 (of 2)

    Jean Paul Friedrich Richter

  • A Polack man showed a torn hand that had come under an ax-handle.

    In the Heart of a Fool

    William Allen White

  • The cry echoed back short from a hundred Polack throats, and they sent a splitter; it was plain they were mad for blood.

    Held for Orders

    Frank H. Spearman

  • In such a cause, any soldier, were he but a Polack Scythe-man, shall be welcome.

British Dictionary definitions for polack

Polack

noun
  1. derogatory, slang a Pole or a person of Polish descent
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Word Origin

C16: from Polish Polak Pole
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for polack

Polack

n.

"Polish person," 1570s, from Polish Polak "(male) Polish person," related to Poljane "Poles," Polsko "Poland," polski "Polish" (see Pole). In North American usage, "Polish immigrant, person of Polish descent" (1879) and in that context considered offensive in English. As an adjective from c.1600.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper