Standard Lemma guide

hick

name · noun · verb · 6 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • rhymes with -ɪk
  • /hɪk/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: hic
  • CMU ARPABET: HH IH1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A diminutive of the male given name Richard.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: rare today

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A surname originating as a patronymic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An awkward, naive, clumsy and/or rude country person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: boor, country bumpkin, churl, hillbilly, lob, redneck, rustic, yokel, bogger, bogtrotter, bucolic, bydlo, culchie, carl, corncob, cornhusker, country cousin, clodhopper, dubbo, joskin, hayseed, hick, hob, hobnail, hog-rubber, honyock, hunk, promdi, provincial, rube, woolly back

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To hiccup.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

awkwardly simple and provincial

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • bumpkinly country boys
  • rustic farmers
  • a hick town
  • the nightlife of Montmartre awed the unsophisticated tourists

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bumpkinly, rustic, unsophisticated

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: yokel, rube, yahoo, hayseed, bumpkin, chawbacon

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rustic

History

Etymology

Rhyming nickname for Rick, pet form of Richard.

From Hick (“pet form of Richard”).

Onomatopoeic.

Across languages

Translations

58 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: селяндур (seljandur) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Catalan: taujà — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Chinese Mandarin: 土包子 (tǔbāozi) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Chinese Mandarin: 鄉巴佬 /乡巴佬 (xiāngbalǎo) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Czech: balík — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Dutch: boerenkinkel — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Dutch: boerenpummel — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Dutch: boer — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Dutch: boerenlul — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Esperanto: kamparanaĉo — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Finnish: landepaukku — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Finnish: maalaistollo — country yokel or hillbilly
  • French: plouc — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: pailán — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: pailaroco — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: badoco — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: paduán — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: laraxo — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: paifoco — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: fuco — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: cirolán — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: caloio — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: códeo — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: estoa — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Galician: xoubio — country yokel or hillbilly
  • German: Landei — country yokel or hillbilly
  • German: Hinterwäldler — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Greek: χωριάτης (choriátis) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Greek: βλάχος (vláchos) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Hungarian: bunkó — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Hungarian: sutyerák — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Indonesian: kampungan — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Irish: cábóg — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Irish: tútachán — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Italian: buzzurro — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Japanese: いなかもん (inakamon) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Korean: 시골뜨기 (sigoltteugi) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Latin: petrō — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Macedonian: се́лјак (séljak) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Norwegian: bondsk — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Polish: prostak — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Portuguese: caipira — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Portuguese: labrego — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Portuguese: saloio — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Romanian: țărănoi — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Romanian: țăran — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Russian: дереве́нщина (derevénščina) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Serbo-Croatian: seljačina — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Slovene: kmetavz — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Spanish: paleto — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Spanish: palurdo — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Spanish: gueishpo — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Swedish: bondläpp — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Thai: ตาสีตาสา (dtaa-sǐi-dtaa-sǎa) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Vietnamese: dân quê — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Welsh: gwladwr — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Yiddish: קליינשטעטלדיקער (kleynshtetldiker) — country yokel or hillbilly
  • Yiddish: קליינשטעטלדיקע (kleynshtetldike) — country yokel or hillbilly