How and when did the term "Dyke" come to be used for Lesbians ?

Question

It has only just occurred to me that I have never considered this. The term was never used to Gwen or myself and I am wary of using it. It seems a little derogatory at best.
Please educate me.
Bright blessings Rose P.

Answer 1

Dyke

This term for a lesbian is a clipped form of bulldyker, an American slang term that dates to at least 1906. The clipped form dyke doesn't appear until 1931. The origin is unknown, but the fact that bulldyker is the earliest known form by several decades limits the possibilities significantly.

Douglas Wilson, in Comments on Etymology, Vol. 31, No. 9, May 2002, outlines an interesting hypothesis. He speculates that it may be from Boadicea, the Celtic warrior queen who led the ancient Britons in battle against the Romans. Boadicea's name is also commonly spelled Boudicca or Boudica--forms which can be easily corrupted into bulldyker. The metaphor of an Amazon-like warrior queen for a man-like woman is clear. Boudicca's true sexual orientation is irrelevant (and impossible to determine after two millenia); what is important is the image and the metaphor. Wilson suggests the appearance of the term at the turn of the 20th century may coincide with a renewed interest in the story of Boudicca. A famous London statue of Boudicca in a chariot was dedicated in 1902 and Queen Victoria's death in 1901 invited many comparisons with past English queens, including Boudicca.

Wilson is not the first to make this leap. Judy Grahn suggested in her 1984 book Another Mother Tongue that Boudicca may be the inspiration for bulldyker. But Grahn suggests that that the term dates to Boudicca's days, which is completely untenable. The term is recent, even if the source of its inspiration is old. (Note that the Boudicca hypothesis is speculation. It's interesting, but speculation nonetheless.)

The word is apparently unrelated to dike, meaning an earthen bank used to hold back or control the flow of water, a dam. This sense of dike dates to the 13th century and probably comes from the Old Norse dik.

Answer 2

The term bulldyker, from which dyke may have been shortened, first appeared in 1920s novels connected with the Harlem Renaissance....the word bulldyker was a word used to describe a manly built woman. Its something i actually looked up to educate my one daughter about because she used the word and i didn't think it was a very tasteful word to use.

Answer 3

The earliest use was "dike", a french word referring to men's clothing, and was used in reference to the pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonney, both known for wearing men's clothes, in 1710. In the Harlem renaissance sub-culture of the 1920s "bulldyker" and "bulldyking were derogatory terms for obviously lesbian women. (see "Home to Harlem", a 1928 novel by Claude McKay). Dyke is a later abbreviation of "bulldyke".

Answer 4

The most likely etymology comes from the somewhat speculative explanation that it is a reference to a great warrior chief of the Celtic people who was particularly hated by the Romans... her name was Boadicea which sounds like
"Boa-Dyk-eh" and could be miss pronounced
"Bull Dyke"... Seems as likely as any other explanation if you know her story...

Answer 5

This is what I found online:

According to Fortune City, the word Dyke was possibly from Boudicca (Bou-dyke-ah), a Celtic queen who organized a revolt against the Roman Empire in 67 A.D. Boudicca was seen as a threat to the power structure. Later, as its connotation changed to refer to lesbians.

Wikipedia says, "The word dike appeared in 1710 in British newspaper stories about cross-dressing pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. One editorial euphemistically referred to their cross dressing with a French word, dike, which refers to men's clothing."

According to the Electric Pride website, one theory about the origin of the word "dyke" as an anti-lesbian slur suggests that "dyke" derived from the word "hermaphrodite."

GLSEN suggests the word dyke may have come from the colloquial "dike" meaning to overdress.
To get "diked out" is similar to our usage of getting "decked out."

Answer 6

An insult, unless gay/bi women themselves are using it.

I think it comes from...you know the story of the little Dutch boy with the broken *dike*? And he sticks his finger in a hole in the dike? I've heard from two people that this is where it came from.

Answer 7

it was used back in the 60s 70s 80s 90s till now its reserved for tomboy ruff a$$ looking woman.

Answer 8

i first heard it in the late 60's..it is very derogatory..to describe the manly or dominant woman in a lesbian couple..i am not clear on how it originated....bulldagger is another one as well..

Answer 9

I've heard it used and it is derogatory, why do you have to have a label anyway?

Answer 10

Good question what about "bull dagger" where do people come up with this stuff.