kike

Meaning

Noun

• A Jew.
• A contemptible person, especially one who is stingy.

Origin

• Thought to be from Yiddish קײַקל ("circle"). In the early 20th century, illiterate Jews immigrating to the United States would sign papers with a circle as opposed to a more common X, the latter being associated by Jews with the Christian cross. This is the dominant etymological theory, but there are others.