Alkie

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæl.ki/

Definitions

1. A colloquial term for an individual who exhibits a chronic dependency on alcoholic drinks and struggles with consumption-related issues
2. A slang term referring to someone who regularly struggles with alcohol dependency
3. Informally describes an individual with a persistent habit of excessive drinking

Etymology: "Alkie" is a clipping of "alcoholic" with the diminutive suffix "-ie" attached, the same ending found in "hippie," "junkie," and "groupie." The base word "alcoholic" itself comes from "alcohol," which traces back through medieval Latin and Arabic to the idea of a fine powder, a sense that gradually narrowed to the distilled spirit. The first recorded use of "alkie" appears around 1844 in the Akron Ohio Buzzard, a periodical that has since disappeared. That is a surprisingly early date for a word that now sounds informal and slightly affectionate, and it shows the clipping was already common in American speech before the mid-nineteenth century.

Synonyms: alcoholic