sheeny

noun
/ˈʃiːni/

Etymology

Seems to have originated in 1820s London. Could be a mockery of Yiddish שיין (sheyn, “beautiful, nice”), much used in praising wares.

  1. derived from שיין — “beautiful, nice

Definitions

  1. A Jew.

    • 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.
  2. A cheat or fraudster.

  3. Having a sheen

    Having a sheen; glossy.

  4. + 1 more definition
    1. Bright

      Bright; radiant; shining.

      • And many a sheeny summer-morn, / Adown the Tigris I was borne, / By Bagdat's shrines of fretted gold, / High-walled gardens green and old; […]

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for sheeny. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA