dyke1

[dahyk] /daɪk/
noun, verb, dyked, dyking.
1.
dike1 .

dyke2

[dahyk] /daɪk/
noun, Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
1.
a contemptuous term used to refer to a lesbian.
Also, dike.
Origin
1940-45; earlier in form bulldike (with a variant bulldagger); of obscure origin; claimed to be a shortening of morphodyke (variant of morphodite, a reshaping of hermaphrodite), though morphodyke is more likely a blend of morphodite and a pre-existing dyke; other hypothesized connections, such as with diked out or dike “ditch,” are dubious on semantic grounds
Related forms
dykey, adjective, dykier, dykiest.
Usage note
The terms dyke and bull dyke are used with disparaging intent and are perceived as insulting. However, they have been adopted as positive terms of self-reference by young or radical lesbians and in the academic community. In the mainstream homosexual community, gay and lesbian remain the terms of choice.
British Dictionary definitions for dyke

dyke1

/daɪk/
noun
1.
an embankment constructed to prevent flooding, keep out the sea, etc
2.
a ditch or watercourse
3.
a bank made of earth excavated for and placed alongside a ditch
4.
(Scot) a wall, esp a dry-stone wall
5.
a barrier or obstruction
6.
a vertical or near-vertical wall-like body of igneous rock intruded into cracks in older rock
7.
(Austral & NZ, informal)
  1. a lavatory
  2. (as modifier): a dyke roll
verb
8.
(civil engineering) an embankment or wall built to confine a river to a particular course
9.
(transitive) to protect, enclose, or drain (land) with a dyke
Word Origin
C13: modification of Old English dic ditch; compare Old Norse dīki ditch

dyke2

/daɪk/
noun
1.
(slang) a lesbian
Word Origin
C20: of unknown origin

Dyke

/dɑɪk/
noun
1.
Greg(ory). born 1947, British television executive; director-general of the BBC (2000–04)
Word Origin and History for dyke
n.

1931, American English, perhaps a shortening of morphadike, dialectal garbling of hermaphrodite; but bulldyker "engage in lesbian activities" is attested from 1921, and a source from 1896 lists dyke as slang for "the vulva."

[T]he word appears first in the long forms, bulldiker and bulldyking, both used in the 1920s 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. [Rawson]

Slang definitions & phrases for dyke

dyke

modifier

: That woman lives with her dyke daughter and her dyke daughter-in-law

noun

A lesbian, esp one who takes an aggressive role; bulldyke

[1930s+; origin uncertain and much debated; perhaps fr a shortening of morphodyke, dialectal and substandard pronunciation of ''hermaphrodite,'' perhaps influenced by dick, ''penis''; a source of 1896 lists dyke, ''the vulva'']