Mickey

See also: mickey

English

Etymology

The proper noun is derived from Mick (“diminutive of the male given name Michael”) +‎ -ey (a variant of -y (diminutive suffix)).[1]

The common noun is derived from the proper noun. Noun sense 1 (“Mickey Mouse cartoon”) and noun sense 3.2 (“type of bombsight assisted by radar”) are short forms of Mickey Mouse.[2] Noun sense 2 (“synonym of Mick”) refers to the fact that since the 17th century Michael and its diminutives Mick, Mickey, and Mike have been one of the most common names in Ireland,[3][4] and that many Irish people are Roman Catholic. Noun sense 3.1 is a short form of Mickey Finn.[5]

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Mickey

  1. A diminutive of the male given name Michael.
  2. A diminutive of the female given names Michaela or Michelle.

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Noun

Mickey (plural Mickeys)

  2. (informal, rare) A Mickey Mouse cartoon.
  4. (slang, chiefly derogatory, offensive) Synonym of Mick.
    1. (originally US) A Roman Catholic person.
    2. (US) An Irishman.
      • 2011, Barry Goldson, Youth in Crisis?: ‘Gangs’, Territoriality and Violence, page 90:
        National identity and ethnic origin mapped gang territory: ‘Little Italy’; ‘Little Sicily’; ‘Polish colony’; […] ‘Mickies’ (Irish). Each possessed demarcated districts within which gangs adopted neighbourhood names and tags […]
  5. (originally US, slang)
    2. Short for Mickey Finn (“an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink deliberately doctored with a drug intended to quickly render the drinker unconscious”).
    4. (military, historical) A type of bombsight assisted by radar.

Alternative forms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Compare “mickey, n.1”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2025.
  2. ^ “Mickey, n.2”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
  3. ^ “Mick, n.1”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2025.
  4. ^ “Mick, n.”, in Collins English Dictionary.
  5. ^ “Mickey, n.3”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “mickey2, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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