Dick (slang)
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"Don't be a dick" redirects here. For the meta essay, see meta:Don't be a dick.
For other uses, see Dick (disambiguation).
Dick is a euphemism, generally considered vulgar, which is used for a variety of slang purposes. It is used to refer to the penis,[1] and by extension as a verb to describe sexual activity. It is also used as a pejorative term for individuals who are considered to be rude, abrasive, inconsiderate, or otherwise contemptible.[1] In this context, it can be used interchangeably with jerk, and can also be used as a verb to describe rude or deceitful actions. Variants include dickhead, which literally refers to the glans. The offensiveness of the word dick is complicated by the continued use of the word in inoffensive contexts, including as both a given name and a surname, in the popular British desert, spotted dick, in the classic novel Moby-Dick, and in the Dick and Jane series of children's books. Uses such as these have provided a basis for comedy writers to exploit this juxtaposition through double entendre.
The word "dick" has had other slang meanings in the past. It was frequently used in mystery fiction to mean "detective", as with the 1940 W.C. Fields film, The Bank Dick (which was released in the United Kingdom as The Bank Detective). The word has sometimes been used to mean "nothing". Neither of these definitions were necessarily pejorative or related to the usual modern meaning of the word.
The term dick originally derives from the given name, Richard, derived from German, French, and English "ric" (ruler, leader, king) and "hard" (strong, brave), and therefore meaning "powerful leader". This was shortened to Rick as a nickname, which then became "Dick" through the same rhyming slang that caused "Bob" to be used in place of "Rob" as an abbreviation for "Robert", and "Bill" to be used in place of "Will" as an abbreviation for "William". Because Richard was a popular name, the informal "Dick" came to be used as a term meaning an everyman, as seen in the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry", and was therefore closely associated with characteristics of masculinity.
The word connoted a person of questionable character long before it became a nickname for the penis. For example, in the 1665 satire The English Rogue by Richard Head, an unsavory character is referred to as a "dick":