sheeny adj : reflecting light; "glistening bodies of swimmers"; "the horse's glossy coat"; "lustrous auburn hair"; "saw the moon like a shiny dime on a deep blue velvet carpet"; "shining white enamel" [syn: glistening, glossy, lustrous, shiny, shining] n : offensive terms for a Jew [syn: kike, hymie]

English

Pronunciation

• /'ʃi:ni/

Etymology 1

Origin unknown.

Noun

1. In the context of "slang|offensive": A Jew.
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:

     Shylock chimes with the jewbaiting that followed the hanging and quartering of the queen’s leech Lopez, his jew’s heart being plucked forth while the sheeny was yet alive

   • 1946, Mezz Mezzrow & Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, Payback Press 1999, p. 6:

     One time in Humboldt Park Leo "Bow" Gisensohn, our leader, didn't like the way a cop down by the lake called him "sheeny."

Etymology 2

From sheen + -y.

Adjective

1. having a sheen; glossy