hanky

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈhæŋki/ UK /ˈhæŋki/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
an informal term for a handkerchief

He pulled a crumpled hanky from his pocket to wipe his brow.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an informal term for a... handkerchief kerchief tissue

Word family

Related forms handkerchief

Etymology

A colloquial diminutive of handkerchief (from hand + kerchief, the latter from Old French couvrechief 'cover-head'), with the familiar -y suffix.

couvrechief Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

# hanky

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈhæŋki
**IPA (UK):** ˈhæŋki

## Meanings
1. an informal term for a handkerchief

## Examples
- He pulled a crumpled hanky from his pocket to wipe his brow.

## Synonyms
- handkerchief
- kerchief
- tissue

## Related Forms
- handkerchief

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: couvrechief

## Etymology
A colloquial diminutive of handkerchief (from hand + kerchief, the latter from Old French couvrechief 'cover-head'), with the familiar -y suffix.

## AI Etymology
hanky has the recorded history: A colloquial diminutive of handkerchief (from hand + kerchief, the latter from Old French couvrechief 'cover-head'), with the familiar -y suffix. Morphologically, the ending is part of the etymology: the suffix is attached to the older base named in the history, producing a later English derivative. In present English, the noun sense is "an informal term for a handkerchief", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as handkerchief. Its semantic neighborhood includes handkerchief, kerchief, and tissue, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Old French couvrechief.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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hanky

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