name, noun, verb, slang ·1 syllable ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   nancyboy derogatory
2. 2
   Alternative form of nancy (“an effeminate male homosexual”). alt-of, alternative, slang

   ""Fairies, nances, swishes, fags, lezzes — call 'em what you please — should of course be permitted to earn honest livings […]"

3. 3
   A large shrub or small tree of subtropical and tropical areas of the Americas, Byrsonima crassifolia, bearing a small, sweet, yellow fruit.
4. 4
   offensive term for a homosexual man wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   To act in an effeminate manner.
2. 2
   To move in a prissy or stereotypically effeminate manner. slang, uncommon

   "nancing around in tight pants"

Proper Noun

1. 1
   A diminutive of the female given name Nancy.
2. 2
   A Cornish surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms

bisexualbutchchickendykefagfaggot

Example

More examples

""Fairies, nances, swishes, fags, lezzes — call 'em what you please — should of course be permitted to earn honest livings […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From nancy. As a verb, cf. prance, dance, and mince.

Etymology 2

From American Spanish nance, from Classical Nahuatl.

Related phrases

Adams-Nance syndromeNance CountyNance-Horan syndrome

Related Topic Clusters

Finance and Business Reporting Words

Vocabulary for clear reporting, forecasting, and executive summary writing.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.