Ofay

//ˈoʊfeɪ// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A white person. US, ethnic, slang, slur

    "For example we have words like ofay, pink, fade, space, Mr. Charlie, cracker, peckawood, hoojah, and so on—nice words and bitter."

Adjective
  1. 1
    White; white-skinned. US, ethnic, slang, slur

    "“You better tell your little ofay kid friend move along.”"

Example

More examples

"For example we have words like ofay, pink, fade, space, Mr. Charlie, cracker, peckawood, hoojah, and so on—nice words and bitter."

Etymology

Unknown; perhaps from an African language (possibly Yoruba ófé (“to evade, disappear”)). Pig Latin for foe, though popularly posited, is probably not accurate. A possible point of origin is Cab Calloway's Hepster's Dictionary, where the word is defined as "Policeman or law enforcement, 'The Man'".

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