Standard Lemma guide

buckra

adj · noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

White.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, not-comparable

Qualifier: African-American Vernacular

Examples

  • a buckra yam

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A white person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Caribbean, derogatory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A poor white person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, dated, derogatory

Qualifier: African-American Vernacular

Examples

  • 1941, Ed Barber, interview published in Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves, Washington: Library of Congress, Volume 14: South Carolina Narratives, Part 1, What I think of Abe Lincoln? I think he was a poor buckra white man, to de likes of me.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Efik mbakara or Ibibio mbakara; compare Gullah buckra (“white person”). Doublet of bakkra.