ponce

¹ American  

[pons] / pɒns /

noun

British Slang.

1. a pimp.

2. a campily effeminate male.

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Ponce ² American  

[pawn-se] / ˈpɔn sɛ /

noun

1. a seaport in S Puerto Rico.

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ponce ¹ British  

/ pɒns /

noun

1. a man given to ostentatious or effeminate display in manners, speech, dress, etc

2. another word for pimp 1

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verb

1. (intr; often foll by around or about) to act like a ponce

Ponce ² British  

/ ˈpɔnθe /

noun

1. a port in S Puerto Rico, on the Caribbean: the second largest town on the island; settled in the 16th century. Pop: 185 930 (2003 est)

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Etymology

Origin of ponce

First recorded in 1870–75; of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Ms. Conner added, “We also have ponce, my favorite. It’s the pig stomach. It tastes like a big, giant sausage.”

From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2020

It’s also – with three female leads running the country as the men ponce about in big wigs – a prime example of what movies might look like post #MeToo.

From The Guardian • Dec. 18, 2018

If there was someone I liked, I’d worm my way under his nose, then, well, ponce about until he noticed me: peacocking.

From The Guardian • Nov. 4, 2017

Stand-up – at the risk of sounding like a total ponce – is an ephemeral experience that occupies the space between comic and audience.

From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2010

I know a good many places where Amen should be scratched out, rubbed over with ponce made of Momus’s little finger bones, and in its place Twang-dillo-dee written.

From Letters of John Keats to His Family and Friends by Keats, John