dickens
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dickens¹
- /ˈdɪkɪnz/
- /ˈdɪkənz/
Rhymes with -ɪkənz
Where it comes from
Origin: 1590–1600; apparently a fanciful use of the proper name Dicken, diminutive form of Dick.
noun
- The devil. She can go to the dickens for what she said.
- A disturbance or row. Hugh considered saying, Then I guess I'll just have to kick you a few times instead, you frog son of a bitch. Then he thought of that fat bastard Keeton, handing him a pink slip for kicking up dickens in the local tavern.
- Used as an intensifier in the phrase the dickens; see that entry. Why the dickens did he do that?
Dickens²
- /ˈdɪkɪnz/
Where it comes from
From Dicken, a medieval diminutive form of Dick + the patronymic suffix -s.
proper noun
- A surname originating as a patronymic, notably borne by Charles Dickens, English novelist.
- A small city, the county seat of Dickens County, Texas, United States.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: devil, deuce, mischief, blazes, heck, hell, billy-o, blue blazes, goodness, gracious, sam hill, tarnation, thunder, thunderation, plague, doggone
Translations
Talk about this word "dickens." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dickens. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. dickens. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dickens "dickens." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dickens.Cite this
@misc{dickens_2026,
title = {dickens},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dickens},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
