Mick is a masculine given name or
nickname, usually a short form (
hypocorism) of
Michael. Because of its popularity in
Ireland, it is often used in
England, the
United Kingdom in general, English-speaking
North America, and
Australia as a
derogatory term or ethnic slur for an
Irish person or a person of Irish descent, particularly ethnic
Irish Catholics. In Australia, the meaning also broadened to include any
Roman Catholic. A colloquial but possibly
false etymology also attributes the origin of the
anti-Irish slur to the prevalence of
Irish surnames containing the patronymic prefix "
Mc-" (or Mhic); whether this
patronym significantly contributed to the development of the
ethnic slur is debated, but the prevalence of the first name or nickname "Mick" among Irish people is considered by etymologists to be the primary origin of the slur.
People
Mick Abrahams (born 1943), English guitarist and band leader, original guitarist for Jethro Tull
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.