Where did the word "dyke" originate from ?

Question

Why are lesbians called dykes? Is it just slang or did it originate from something specific?

Answer 1

The etymology of *dyke* is extremely obscure.

It has been suggested that the word is a shortening of *hermaphrodite* via
*morphodite* and *morphodike*, all of which have the long histories in the
use of the word *homosexual* (but male sense).

Another possibility is that the term derives from *dike* meaning "to
overdress", "to wear fancy clothes", *diked out* has been used in the same
way as *decked out* in the United States since the 1840's.

Arguing both these theories is the fact that word appears first in the long
term forms *bulldike* and *bulldyking*, both used in the 1920's by American
blacks. No african antecedents have been found for the term, however which
leads to the possibility that this is basically just another backcountry,
barnyard word, perhaps a combination of *bull* and *dick*

From: [e-mail] (Peter Thorn)

Origin of word dyke

Boudicca (or Boadicea) [ca. 28-62 C.E.]. The name is pronounced "bou-dikka".

Boudicca was a chieftan/queen of the Iceni tribe in Britain during the 1st
Century of the common era. The Iceni were a Celtic/British tribe living
in what is now Norfolk and Suffolk.

Boudicca became chieftan/queen on the death of her husband. The Romans,
who were occupying Britain at that point, did not recognise her husband's
will. They seized his estate, all his treasure and the estates of a
number of Iceni nobles. In addition, they flogged Boudicca and raped her
two daughters.

Boudicca then headed an armed revolt against the Roman occupation by the
Celtic/British inhabitants. At one point they razed the Roman settlement
at London to the ground.

However, the revolt was short-lived. The Romans rallied and butchered the
Celts/Britons. Boudicca died in 62 C.E., possibly at her own hand. The
reason for this, apparently, was so that the Romans could not lead her in
chains through the streets of Rome in a triumphal procession.

Source:
Fraser, Antionia. _Warrior Queens, The: The Legends and the Lives of
the Women who have led their Nations in War_. Vintage Books, Div. of
Random House: New York, 1990.

Answer 2

The word lesbian comes from the Greek Island of Lesbos, (as others have stated) where the poet Sappho lived in 600 B.C. Sappho was an intellectual and poet who wrote many love poems to other women. Although much of her poetry has been destroyed by religious fundamentalists, (big surprise) the few poems of Sappho that remain speak clearly to her love and infatuation with women. It is unclear when the word "lesbian" was first used to describe women who love other women, but the first usage can be traced back to the 1800s. It came into popular use in the lesbian feminist era of the 1960s and 1970s.

Answer 3

Dyke or dike is a slang term for a lesbian. The term is generally used by non-lesbians as a slur to refer to a woman who is aggressive or "butch" or who is hostile toward men.

For more info click on the link below

Answer 4

I've heard that men used to refer to getting "diked up" when they were dressing up to go out on the town. Lesbians then took that word for themselves. And, then the homophobes made it a mean word, and then some lesbians reclaimed it again. I find that REALLY interesting that it's gone back and forth like that.

Answer 5

ow, I used the word dyke in one of my Q, but I ment butch. I thought it was almost the same.